Coffee and A New Dawn
by JessieWills
Summary: The Castle family is growing and problems are arising with work, family problems and most of all the closing down of Johanna Beckett's murder. What will happen when stress begins to take over Kate's life and issues arise within the family? Disclaimer- Anyone to do with Castle isn't mine, AJ however is my lovely creation!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Welcome to the next in the Coffee series. This chapter is very short in comparison to some in the past and also I know I said it would be set straight after the last chapter of Coffee and the Unknown but I couldn't think of anything to write so this chapter is set a month after the final chapter and I really hope that you enjoy this! **

**Disclaimer: However much I like to own Castle, I don't own it and therefore am just playing around with the wonderful characters of the genius Andrew Marlow. **

"Don't even think about getting out of this bed Richard Castle" Kate warned as she wrapped her body around his as a small laugh left his lips. "You're not going anywhere and neither am I, we're just going to lie here forever" she declared, his eyes rolling as he heard AJ scream from the other room, a groan leaving her lips as he looked down at her before looking across in the direction of the nursery. "I'm not moving" Kate stated, pushing him down as he attempted to move out of her arms. "He can cry it out, I'm not letting you out of this bed" she announced as he shook at her head, knowing that she was being silly now.

"You don't mean that" he whispered, brushing her hair away from her face as she moved to straddle him, her head shaking as she looked across in the direction of the noise, knowing that in the next second she would be in that room clutching onto her son for dear life. Climbing over the writer, Kate sighed as she grabbed his t-shirt off the floor before pulling it on and approaching the nursery door, her body turning before she opened it. "What now?" he asked gently.

"Don't move" she warned before opening the door and disappearing into the nursery, her smile growing as she moved towards her son and lifted him into her arms; his crying practically stopping as she looked down at him and pressed a kiss to his forehead before carrying him towards the door. Stepping out of her son's room, Kate glared across at the bed to see that it was now empty and the sound of the shower was running through the room. "Has daddy not listened to mommy baby?" the brunette whispered as she smiled down at her son before moving to sit on the bed. Resting her son on the sheets, Kate laughed as he began to kick his legs up in the air. One month old and he was her proudest achievement already. Hearing the shower go silent, Kate leant down to press a kiss to her son before looking across to see the writer walking out with a towel tightly wrapped around his hips as he smiled at her. "Don't talk to me" Kate stated.

"For god's sake Kate, it's a couple of days and you know I don't want to go" Rick sighed as he approached the wardrobe, turning around again to see her tickling their sons stomach while she tried not to look across at him. "Kate, we discussed this, it's three days and then I promise I won't go again for a long time" he whispered as she sighed and looked across at him for a moment. She hated the idea of this book tour taking him away from them. He'd tried to get them to cancel it but had only managed to cut it down from a week to three days! "Mother's going to be here with you and your dad is constantly offering to come down as well to help with the kids, you're not going to be doing this on your own" he declared, knowing that she was mainly worried about being left alone with their children.

"But you're not going to be here" Kate admitted before biting into her lip, silencing herself as he sighed and moved to sit beside her. "You're not going to be here to burp AJ while I get myself sorted or to help Alexis with her homework or to just cuddle me when I feel completely useless at this" she mumbled as the writer stared down at his son before looking up at his wife. "We're partners remember" she muttered, slowly relaxing when his arms tightly wrapped around her while his lips pressed kisses into her hair. "Just fake ill or something" she begged.

"Kate it doesn't work like that, you know that" he sighed as he brushed the hair away from her face before kissing her gently. "If I could stay I would but people need to see me and they'll want to know all about you and AJ and everything, it's part of this life Kate" he whispered as she shook her head, wanting him to just stay where he was. "I need to get dressed" he commented as she shook her head again. "Kate I need to get ready, I need to be at the airport in an hour" he whispered as she nodded, knowing that she wasn't going to win this fight. Lifting AJ into her arms, Kate quickly moved to feed him while her eyes focused on the dressing writer. "Like what you see?" he asked quickly as she bit into her lip.

"Stop flirting while I'm feeding our son" she laughed as he nodded and leant across to kiss her quickly. "Why don't you go and wake Alexis up? She'll want to come to the airport to say goodbye to her father who is abandoning us" Kate suggested dramatically as he nodded and watched for a moment as AJ pulled away from her.

"Do you want me to….?" he began as she shook her head.

"Have to cope without you for three days Rick, leave me alone to practice my single mother skills" she sighed as he groaned and stood up, knowing that he wasn't going to win when she was in a mood like this. Walking out of the room, Rick sighed as he ran up the stairs and into his daughter's bedroom to find her already sat up in bed with a book in her hands.

"Do you really have to go daddy?" Alexis whispered as she looked across at her father, not even saying good morning to him as he shut his eyes for a moment. "Are we going to the airport soon?" she asked as he nodded, laughing when she tightly wrapped her arms around his hips. "You're going to come back though, aren't you?" she asked.

"Of course I'm coming back, I always come back pumpkin" he smiled, running his fingers through her hair before lifting her into his arms, a squeal leaving her lips at the action. "Let's go downstairs and see whether mommy's ready yet and then maybe we can get breakfast on the way to the airport" he smiled as Alexis nodded and tightly wrapped her arms around her father's neck, never wanting to let go of him as she relaxed against him. Slowly reaching the bottom of the stairs a few moments later, Rick sighed as he found Kate walking out of the bedroom with AJ in her arms and exhaustion covering her face while she grabbed her keys off the table and looked across at them. "Come on, I'll take you for breakfast".

"I would rather you stayed here" Kate sighed before smiling across at her daughter and then down at her son. "Come on, let's go and get some breakfast" she smiled, reaching across to grab a jacket before she sighed and watched as the writer walked towards her before leaning down to kiss AJ's head while Alexis squealed at the movement before clinging onto her father, not wanting to be dropped by her father. "Breakfast now or you'll be on the plane starving" Kate stated as she looked up at her husband. "And you'll be going to school starving" the brunette added as shock covered the redhead's face.

"Daddy we need to go and get breakfast, I don't want to go to school starving" Alexis moaned as Kate laughed at her for a moment before smiling and walking towards the door while Alexander began to make noises against her.

XOOXXOXOXOXOXOXO

"That's my plane" Rick sighed as he heard the comment that they had all been hoping not to hear. Watching as he stood up, Kate bit into her lip as Rick ran his fingers through Alexis' hair before he leant down to kiss her forehead gently as the redhead remained silent. "Look after your mommy and give her lots of cuddles when she looks sad because she's going to need them" he smiled as she nodded and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I love you pumpkin" he whispered as he moved away from her.

"I love you too daddy and I'll hug mom all the time" she whispered as the writer nodded and looked across at his wife who was busy playing with AJ while attempting not to cry.

"Three days and I'll call whenever I'm free" he promised as the brunette nodded slowly and looked up at him before the writer kissed her quickly, unable to stop herself from moaning against his lips as he pulled away from her slowly. "I love you" he whispered against her lips before running his fingers across his sons head and pressing a kiss to AJ's head gently while Kate watched in silence, not knowing what to say.

"I don't want you to leave" she whispered after a few moments of silence as he looked up at her. "You could just come home with us and blame me; I don't want to be on my own. I need my partner with this" she begged as the writer leant his forehead against hers for a moment as AJ continued to gurgle between them. "I need you to stay here with me, I need you to be here with our family" she whispered quietly as she rested against him, leaving enough space however to stop them from suffocating their son.

"Kate I need to go now" he admitted, holding her close for a moment as she stared at him in silence, not knowing what to say. "I love you beautiful" he smiled.

"I hate you right now" she laughed, unable to stop herself from smiling as the writer leant down to kiss their son again before Alexis tightly wrapped her arms around him, desperately trying to make him stay while the writer smiled down at his daughter. "Come on Lex, we need to let daddy go" Kate finally sighed as Rick watched her in amazement. "Go and make everyone fall in love with you Rick just remember who you have a home" she laughed as she kissed him gently, feeling Alexis' arms move from around Rick to around her. "Call us every night" she begged as he nodded and lifted his bag up before throwing it over his shoulder and taking a step away from them. "Rick" Kate called out after he'd taken a few steps away from them, his body turning to look at her as she smiled. "I love you" she laughed as Alexis began to wave.

"I love you too, I love everyone single one of you" Rick laughed as Kate smiled down at their two children.

"Say goodbye to daddy baby" Kate smiled as she looked down at the small boy who was staring across at Rick. Watching as Rick disappeared from sight, Kate sighed as she slowly watched Alexis for a moment before sitting down and sighing. "Shall we go pumpkin?" Kate asked quickly as the redhead shook her head, not wanting to leave yet.

"Can we wait until the plane leaves?" Alexis asked as Kate nodded and smiled, allowing the small girl to relax against her side as they stared up at the screen, waiting for Rick to disappear for three whole days of craziness.


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys are really awesome, thank you for being wonderful and reviewing! Hopefully you continue to review, this story is kind of normal happy stuff to start with and then it will begin to get more dramatic when other things start to become involved so hopefully you remain interested! **

Wrapping the robe over her shaking body, Kate tightly wrapped her arms around her body as she walked past the mirror to see her skin pale while her cheeks were flushed. She felt like crap and she knew that she needed to get Alexis up for school, even though she wanted to just crawl back into bed and never move again. Entering the nursery slowly, Kate smiled down at her sleeping son before walking out and disappearing up the stairs to wake up her daughter. Knocking on the door gently, Kate watched as she slowly opened it to reveal the redhead curled up in bed with her arms tightly wrapped around herself.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Kate asked quietly as she leant down and touched the girl's forehead, amazed at how hot she was. "Come on you, I need you to sit up" Kate whispered as Alexis shook her head, not wanting to get out of bed. "Baby girl, you need to get out of these pyjamas, you're very hot" she whispered as the redhead groaned again. "A cold bath and then you can make your own little nest on the couch and sleep" Kate smiled as the redhead slowly move to sit up before wrapping her arms around the brunette who slowly lifted her off the bed and into the connected bathroom.

"Mommy I feel really sick" Alexis mumbled as Kate held her close before sitting her on the toilet and moving to run her a bath. Turning to look at the little girl as the water ran, Kate sighed as she brushed the hair away from Alexis' face before kissing her forehead gently, knowing exactly how the little girl was feeling. Turning off the water a few seconds later, Kate sighed as she helped the small girl out of her pyjamas before holding her hand as she climbed into the bath and squealed slightly. "It's cold" Alexis moaned.

"That's the point sweetheart" Kate sighed as she knelt down beside the bath and smiled weakly, her stomach killing her as she played with Alexis' hair for a moment. Hearing AJ scream from downstairs, Kate sighed as she looked across at the door before returning to watch the little girl who was staring at her.

"Please don't go" Alexis sobbed as Kate leant across to kiss her forehead. "Please stay here" she begged.

"I just need to go and check on him and then I'll be back, just relax and stay in the water, I'll be back before you know it" Kate begged as she stood up and slowly moved towards the door and slid out of the room, her arms tightly wrapping around her as she groaned. She felt sick and she hated it! She hated that she wasn't one hundred per cent able to look after her babies. Entering the nursery, Kate quickly lifted her son into her arms before rocking him gently and reaching across for the phone and dialling her dad's number.

"Hello?" Jim yawned answered the phone.

"Daddy" Kate whispered as she continued to stare down at her son. "Daddy I need you to come and get AJ for me" she admitted as she moved to sit down on her bed, resting the small boy on the blanket as she sighed and waited for her father to say something to her.

"Is everything okay Katie?" Jim asked as she sighed.

"Alexis and I are sick and I don't want to have it around AJ, it's probably food poisoning though" she moaned as Jim laughed gently. "I knew we shouldn't have gone for those burgers last night but I was tired and everyone was getting miserable" Kate panicked as Jim smiled at her admition, knowing that she was beating herself up for being the reason why they were sick.

"Kate it's okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes" Jim sighed as the brunette slowly began to relax. "Just try and calm down" he smiled as she nodded, staring down at the baby who was staring up at her while kicking his legs, a weak grin covering her face as she ran her fingers across his stomach.

"Thanks daddy" Kate whispered before they said goodbye and she quickly put the phone down before lifting the one month old into her arms and holding him against her. "Why don't you try and sleep for a couple more hours monkey?" Kate whispered as she walked out of the bedroom with him before resting him in the crib beside the couch. Martha was out and therefore couldn't help her so she had to everything alone until her dad arrived. Running back up the stairs, Kate entered the en-suite again to see the redhead lying down in the bath with her eyes shut. "Come on baby" she smiled as Alexis opened her eyes and smiled across at her weakly. "When I'm sick, I like to get in my comfiest pyjamas, cuddle up in my blanket and watch lots of movies" she whispered as she helped the small girl out of the bath before tightly wrapping her in a fluffy towel and pressing a kiss to her nose.

"Will you cuddle with me mommy?" the redhead asked quietly as Kate nodded, knowing that she wanted to relax as well and recover from whatever they had. Finding a pair of pyjamas in Alexis' neatly organised drawers, Kate slowly ran her fingers through her hair as she passed them to her daughter who quickly dressed herself before reaching across for Rory the lion while Kate grabbed the duvet and carried it downstairs while Alexis slowly followed.

"Do you want anything to eat baby?" Kate asked quietly as Alexis shook her head and climbed onto the couch, burying herself under the blanket that Kate draped over her before shutting her eyes. "I'm going to go and feed AJ quickly but I'm just in the office if you need me, I'll be back in a couple of minutes" Kate promised as the redhead nodded slowly, remaining silent as Kate lifted AJ into her arms and approached Rick's office. Sitting down in Rick's chair, Kate slowly pulled the robe away from her body before moving her son closer to her breast as he began to feed, her eyes shutting as she allowed him to have what he needed. She needed to relax, she needed to relax and think about her baby even though it was getting harder to do when all she wanted was hours and hours of sleep. Hearing someone knock on the apartment door, Kate groaned as she looked down at her son, knowing that he wasn't finished yet and there was no one else to answer the door. "I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry" Kate whispered, forcing her son away from her as he began to sob while she covered herself. "I'm sorry baby, I'm sorry" she muttered, holding him up against her as she walked out of the room to see Alexis already fast asleep on the couch. Opening the door, Kate forced a smile onto her exhausted face as she stared at her father who quickly held his arms out for his grandson who Kate quickly gave to him. "I need to feed him" she whispered.

"You look really ill Kate" Jim sighed as he watched his daughter for a moment while she rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around her body, not knowing what else to do. "Where's Alexis?" he asked, answering his own question when he looked across to see the redhead buried under the blankets fast asleep. "Right, I'm not working today so you can get some sleep after you've fed this one" he explained as she nodded and thanked him quietly before taking AJ again.

XOOXOXOXXOXOXO

"You're burning up Katie" Jim whispered as he ran his fingers across his daughter's forehead as she groaned and shook her head. She couldn't be worse! "Maybe we should call a doctor" he suggested as she shook her head again. She didn't want doctors; she just wanted to sleep for a couple more hours and then make her daughter dinner because she would probably be hungry by then even though she was still fast asleep on the couch. "Alexis is fine, she's asleep and there are hundreds of Disney movies for her to choose from if she wakes up and AJ is asleep too so you can just relax" he promised as she nodded slowly and sighed, burying her face into the pillow again as the man watched her in silence. "I think I'm going to call someone, you need someone to come and check you over Kate" he stated as she remained silent, knowing better than to argue with her father.

"Daddy" Kate whispered as he made a noise, indicating that he was listening to her. "I really do love you" she smiled as he leant down and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Thank you for coming to rescue us" she whispered as he laughed and sat down on the edge of the bed, watching her as she slowly began to fall asleep.

"You silly sick girl" he muttered before moving off the bed and leaving the dark bedroom to join his grandchildren in the silent living room; his hand moving towards the phone as he smiled at the idea that was coming into his mind.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Hearing the door open, Kate yawned as she watched a small amount of light fill the room before someone walked towards the bed. She was exhausted and she knew that her father was probably coming back to check her temperature and see whether she was alive. He'd been constantly coming into the room during the day to check how she was and sometimes brought AJ in when he needed feeding and he constantly informed her of how Alexis was slowly beginning to improve. Feeling the bed go down as someone sat down beside her, the brunette groaned as she slowly turned to look at the figure who was sat quietly.

"Daddy, I'm fine. I just want to sleep" Kate moaned as he laughed, the brunette suddenly realising that she wasn't talking to her father. "Is it really you?" the brunette whispered as he nodded and leant down, her smile growing as she stared up at her husband in amazement; her fingers brushing across his cheeks as he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose and continued to smile. "What happened to the tour?" she whispered.

"I got a phone call from a worried father who told me that my wife and daughter were sick and needed me to come home and make them better so I got the first plane home and here I am with you Katie" he explained as she relaxed and cuddled up against him. "Alexis is still asleep, I don't think I've seen her this sick since she was really little".

"It's all my fault, I bought something that wasn't properly cooked because I was exhausted" Kate muttered as tears ran down her cheeks, the writer's head shaking as he ran his fingers through her hair slowly; attempting to calm her down. "I made our little girl sick Rick".

"No you didn't, the people who can't cook made her sick and she'll get better like you will Katie" he declared before leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Come on, let's go and sit on the couch and surprise Alexis when she wakes up" Rick suggested as Kate groaned, not fighting him as he lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the bedroom towards the living room where Jim was quietly sat with a cup of tea. "Look who's out of bed" the writer smiled.

"You okay Katie?" Jim asked as she nodded.

"I'm fine, I'm better now" Kate whispered as Rick sat down and watched as Kate cuddled up against him and yawned, relaxing when the writer tightly wrapped a blanket around her. "Tell me about the tour" she mumbled against him

"I met lots of people and all of them wanted to know about the baby" he admitted as she smiled. "They wanted to know his name and what he was like and who he looks like the most and they wanted to know about his mommy of course and how she was" he whispered into her hair as she shut her eyes. "And the one thing that I told everyone was that AJ was completely perfect and his mommy was a complete natural" he explained, smiling when he looked down to see that she was fast asleep against him again. "She's cute when she's asleep" Rick laughed gently as he smiled across at the older man who nodded in agreement, knowing that his daughter was in safe hands when Rick was with her.

**What do you think? Do you like this chapter? I'm not too sure but hopefully you like it! **


	3. Chapter 3

"Rick there's someone at the door" Kate moaned as she tightly wrapped her robe around herself and looked in the direction of the nursery where Rick was currently changing their son. Hearing another knock at the front door, Kate groaned as she stood up and slowly walked out of her bedroom with a frown covering her face. Whoever as at the door wasn't going to stay alive for very long once she opened the door! Pulling it open, Kate felt a smile cover her face as she stared at the older woman who was standing in front of her with two bunches of flower.

"Mrs Castle?" she asked as Kate nodded slowly. "These are for you" the petit woman admitted as Kate bit into her lip, amazed by the bunch of red roses that the woman was passing to her with a large smile covering her face. "And these are for an Alexis Castle" she admitted as she revealed the small amount of yellow roses.

"Thank you, they're beautiful" Kate smiled gratefully as the woman nodded and slowly disappeared towards the elevator. Turning around slowly, the brunette smiled as she found Rick watching her with their son in his arms and a large smile covering his face. "It looks like I have an admirer" Kate giggled as she moved towards the kitchen to rest the two bunches down on the table before reaching across for two vases. "Lex someone sent you flowers" Kate admitted as the redhead turned to look at her from the couch with shock covering her face. Placing Alexis' flowers in the vase, Kate sighed as she carried them towards the coffee table and rested them there for the little girl to look at. "Do you want to read the card beautiful?" Kate asked as Alexis nodded and slowly took the card from the brunette who began to read it quietly before looking across at her father.

"Thank you daddy, they're really pretty" Alexis smiled as Kate leant across to press a kiss to her cheek before standing and walking towards her own roses. Placing them carefully into the vase, the brunette sighed as the writer placed the small down into the crib before tightly wrapping his arms around her before pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"They're beautiful Rick" Kate whispered as he shrugged, knowing that he'd bought them to make his two favourite girls smile. Reaching across for the card, Kate stared down at the small message that the woman had written on behalf of the writer. "They're perfect Rick, thank you for coming back for us" she whispered, turning around to kiss him gently before sighing. Having her father call the writer was the best decision he'd ever made as having the writer home that first night had made everything so much better and after a couple of days of relaxing and cuddling up with her sick daughter she was starting to feel more human again. "I was thinking that we could go for a walk today" Kate admitted as she looked across at the redhead who was watching her in silence. "You need to get some fresh air baby" Kate stated as Alexis nodded slowly before standing up and slowly disappearing up the stairs. "I'm going to get dressed".

"Can I watch?" Rick asked as she rolled her eyes. "Come on, you wouldn't let me miss an opportunity of seeing my sexy wife completely naked" he announced as she watched him for a moment.

"Rick I look a complete mess" Kate moaned as he shook his head and tightly wrapped his arms around her as she squealed gently. "You're so sweet sometimes Rick" the brunette whispered as she kissed his cheek gently.

"I'm a romantic man, I like to spoil the woman of my dreams when she isn't very well" Rick declared as he lifted his wife into his arms as she smiled down at him before kissing him quickly as he slowly carried her towards their bedroom while she remained perfectly relaxed in his arms. Putting her down on the bed gently, Rick smiled as the brunette looked up at him before pulling him down by his shirt to kiss him quickly as he laughed gently against her lips. "Stop being sexy, you're sick and you need to get better" he moaned as he moved away from her before standing up and watching her for a moment.

"I'm nearly better" she whispered as he nodded, kissing her gently before he walked towards the wardrobe and pulled out some clothes for her. They both knew that the major issue wasn't the food poisoning but more their nerves of taking the next step after the baby being born. They were both nervous about getting sexual again, even though they pretended not to be! "If I feel better later maybe we could try to have a little welcome back party" she suggested as he turned to look at her, his eyebrows rising as she bit into her lip.

"Sometimes I wonder where the innocent young girl that I met a couple of years ago has gone" he smiled as she shrugged and removed her t-shirt to get dressed. "Kate that's not fair, how am I supposed to stay strong with this argument when you're topless and incredibly sexy" he moaned, turning around so he couldn't see her as she bit into her lip for a moment and stood up to grab the clothes that he'd thrown onto the bed before he'd turned away.

"I thought you wanted to watch me get dressed" she whispered nervously.

"I thought I did but knowing that I can't touch you like I want too is killing me, I only have a small amount of strength left when it comes to you Katherine" he laughed as Kate rolled her eyes before dressing herself and creeping up behind him to wrap her arms around him. "I was thinking we could go to the park, Alexis will probably feel happier when she's around other children who want to play with her" he suggested as Kate nodded in agreement and slowly moved towards the door while their fingers laced together and their smiles grew. Approaching the living room, Kate smiled as she found Alexis kneeling up on the couch while staring at AJ in the crib.

"Is he okay Lex?" Kate asked as the redhead nodded and smiled.

"He's perfect mommy" Alexis admitted as Kate walked over and lifted the baby into her arms, her lips pressing to his head as she continued to hold him close to her while Rick moved to find Alexis' jacket. "Are we going to go now?" the redhead questioned in excitement as Kate nodded, excited to finally get out of the apartment.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"He looks like he's having fun" Rick laughed as he stood in front of the swing and watched as Kate slowly swung back and forwards with AJ in her arms and a large smile covering her face. "And Alexis is having fun too, so this was a brilliant idea of mine" he declared as Kate rolled her eyes at him before smiling down at her son who was squealing in excitement as they continued to move gently.

"She just needed other children around her, she's not had friends round in a long time and she used to have them around all the time" Kate admitted as the writer walked towards her and stared at her as she stopped moving on the swing and looked up at him before the silence was ruined when Alexis ran over and tightly wrapped her arms around her father's hips. "So how much trouble am I in for pulling you away from the book tour?" she asked as the writer shrugged, not wanting to talk about work when they were having family time. "Tell me" she begged as he shook his head. "Richard…" Kate warned.

"They weren't particularly happy that I cancelled on them but who cares? You're my wife and Alexis is my little girl and were ill, I wasn't going to leave you to deal with this on your own" Rick admitted as she stared at him in amazement before standing and kissing him quickly as Alexis rolled her eyes at them. "My little perfect family is the most important thing to me in the world Kate, my career will always come second to you" he explained as she nodded and smiled down at her two children in amazement. This was their perfect little family!

XOXOOXXOXOXO

"What are you doing?" Kate asked as the writer walked in and sat down on the other end of the couch before lifting her feet onto his lap. "Rick, give me my feet back" she moaned before gasping when he began to massage her feet slowly, her smile growing as she looked at him. "Okay don't give me my feet back, keep them for as long as you want" she whispered as he laughed and looked across at her in amazement as she relaxed back and laughed.

"So how are you feeling?" he questioned as she nodded.

"Better, I feel a lot better. I think I've finally beaten the food poisoning" she admitted as he shook his head. "What?" she asked as he smiled at her.

"I mean how are you other than the food poisoning Kate? I mean how are you feeling with AJ and everything? Are you doing okay overall?" he explained as she smiled and leant across to kiss him gently before sighing and moving to sit on his lap as she leant up to press a kiss to his cheek gently in amazement.

"I guess I'm okay, even if my husband is starting to sound like a therapist" she admitted as she found his hand and laced her fingers with his. "Sometimes it's a bit overwhelming but I wanted this so much and all the hard work makes it so much better when I look down at our baby boy and see how perfect he is Rick and think about how he's ours and no one else's" she whispered as the writer nodded and smiled and kissed her gently.

"And how are you feeling about yourself?" he whispered as she stared at him in confusion.

"Where's this coming from Rick?" she asked quickly.

"Well when Meredith had Alexis she was really anti-herself and she wouldn't want to talk to me about it and other father's mentioned how their wives became really unconfident and I just thought it's something we should talk about" he admitted as she gently kissed him and smiled. "I want you to be able to talk to me about these things, you're my wife and I want to support you" he explained as she sighed and looked down for a moment. "Tell me what's been bothering you".

"I don't feel very attractive right now, I mean sometimes I feel okay and then other times I just feel horrible. I guess the whole food poisoning thing didn't help with making me feel attractive, I mean here I am with a baby on my boobs most of the time and my face flushed because I'm sick so I'm clearly not the image of beauty right now" she admitted as she bit into her lip. "I mean I want to be the person that you fell in love with and I want to be confident again but I'm kind of scared" she said quietly as she buried her face into his neck and allowed him to tightly wrap his arms around her.

"Scared about what beautiful?" he whispered as she looked across at him. "Come on Katie you can tell me" Rick smiled as she bit into her lip for a moment, not knowing how to tell him. "You can tell me anything" he promised, squeezing her hand gently as she remained silent. "Actually, you don't have to tell me if you're not ready Kate, I'm not going to push this" he began before she shook her head.

"I'm scared that it's going to hurt when we try again" she whispered as he remained silent, giving her the chance to be honest with him. "I'm scared that I won't be very good Rick and you won't find me attractive anymore" she mumbled as he pressed a kiss into her hair. "How can I be attractive when I have all this baby weight and my breasts are literally like a food source?" she asked as he ran his hand to her cheek, turning her gently to look at him.

"You're beautiful Kate, so bloody beautiful" he smiled as she felt the tears fill her eyes. "I actually think it's amazing that your body is doing all these wonderful things to look after our son and I just think you're an extraordinary woman and I'm a really lucky man to call you my wife" he admitted as she stared at him, not knowing what to say. "Kate you gave birth to our son handcuffed to a radiator after being threatened and starved and you didn't give up once or say that it was too hard, you fought everything to bring our son into the world" he smiled, kissing her forehead gently as she continued to watch him, her fingers brushing across his cheek as he laughed. "Kate, I honestly don't know whether it'll hurt the first time but I promise being close to you again will be one of the most amazing things in the world and I am going to wait until you're ready for this".

"You're willing to wait for me again?" she asked as he nodded, laughing against her lips when she kissed him quickly and stared into his eyes. "There is something else we could do together" she whispered as his eyebrows rose. "You're going to hate it though".

"Tell me" he whispered as she bit into her lip. "I promise, I won't hate it Kate".

"I want to start getting back into shape, I know a month's a bit early but I'm not talking exercising for hours every day" she admitted as he nodded slowly, starting to wonder where this was going. "I just want go out for a run once or twice a week and I would love it if you would come with me" she explained as he stared at her. "Martha and my dad would love to spend time with the kids alone and we could just go out and have some time together" she explained as the writer remained silent for a moment. "You don't have too but I'd like having someone with me, especially to stop me if I'm pushing myself too much".

"I guess I could do with some more exercise" he declared as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "We could get matching outfits" he joked as she rolled her eyes at him before relaxing in his arms, a small laugh leaving both their lips when AJ began to scream from within their bedroom. "I'll go" he smiled.

"He'll want feeding Rick" Kate stated.

"Then I'll bring him to you Kate, just sit down and relax for a night" he smiled, climbing off the couch as she slid back into the corner of the couch and shut her eyes, opening them again a few minutes later to find Rick walking back towards her with their son pressed gently against his chest. "He's getting big" Rick commented as he passed their son to Kate who quickly moved the small boy so he was eating quietly. "You really are wonderful".

"I'm sure Meredith was the exact same with Alexis Rick, it's just what a mother does" Kate smiled as she ran a finger through Alexander's curls, unable to remove the pride that was covering her face. This little person was completely hers, the creation she made through her love for her husband!

"Alexis wasn't breastfed" Rick stated as Kate looked up. "Meredith wasn't going to lose her sleep for her so I bottle fed her" he admitted as the brunette slowly moved to look down at her baby. Why wouldn't anyone want to do this? "Meredith wasn't ready to be a mom Kate" he stated simply as he sat down beside her and watched their baby in amazement. "She wasn't ready to be responsible for something so needy" he explained. "But you are and you're wonderful" he smiled as AJ finished eating and moved away from her. "My turn" Rick laughed as Kate nodded and allowed her husband to take him from her. "Your mommy is the best mommy around Mr Castle, so don't you ever forget that" Rick whispered to the small boy as Kate laughed.

"Rick" Kate sighed.

"Not only did she give birth to you in a very scary circumstance with me as her midwife but she became a mother for the first time at just nineteen years old" he explained as Kate rolled her eyes, knowing that it sounded shocking every time he explained their story to someone. "Nineteen years old and she was graduating from the academy and looking after your big sister and me after we had an accident and she was being extraordinary" Rick whispered before pressing a kiss to his sons head. "You're a very lucky boy Alexander James, a very lucky boy indeed" Rick smiled proudly before moving the small boy, after he'd burped, to rest on his lap. Leaning across to kiss her son's forehead, Kate smiled as she stared at him for a moment.

"You have a pretty amazing daddy too AJ" Kate whispered before leaning up to kiss her husband. "A really amazing loveable daddy actually".


	4. Chapter 4

Hearing her son scream as the thunder rang through the apartment before the room flashed with lightning quickly, Kate groaned as she shook her head slowly and stared down at her sleeping husband. Hitting his arm, Kate watched as he looked up at her before groaning and sitting up as the brunette glared at him for a moment before he leant across to kiss her. Hearing AJ's screaming get louder, the brunette climbed out of bed and wrapped her robe around her pyjamas before disappearing into the nursery as Rick watched in silence; smiling when the brunette reappeared with AJ pressed close to her chest.

"I don't think he likes the thunder very much" Kate admitted as the writer pulled the duvet back and watched as Kate slid into the bed beside him before he draped the blanket over her again as she attempted to calm their son. "Unlike his father who can sleep through it and needs to be punched in order to wake up" she sighed as the writer laughed before leaning across to kiss his cheek gently. Hearing the door creep open, Kate looked across to see Alexis poking her head around the door and a shy smile covering her face.

"Hey pumpkin" Rick said quietly as the redhead slowly began to approach the bed. "Can't sleep Alexis?" he asked quietly as she shook her head and smiled when the writer moved closer to his wife before allowing Alexis to slide into bed beside him. Tightly wrapping his arms around his daughter, Rick sighed as he relaxed back with Alexis cuddled into his side while Kate still soothed AJ in her arms. "Kate I think he's fine now" Rick smiled as the brunette nodded and gently leant down to press a kiss to his forehead before sighing and looking across at the writer to see that Alexis was fast asleep next to him.

"I think she's fine as well" Kate admitted as Rick laughed and nodded in agreement. "We have two amazing children Rick" Kate whispered as she attempted to move as her son remained fast asleep in her arms. "Any chance you can sneak out and bring the travel cot in?" she asked quietly as the writer nodded and climbed over his daughter, both of them amazed that the redhead hadn't woken up from the movement. Watching as Rick disappeared out of the room, Kate sighed as she looked across at their two children before hearing the door creep open and the writer walk in with the crib.

"Here let me have him, you just relax Katie, you need some sleep" Rick smiled as she nodded and allowed him to lift the small boy off her stomach before carrying him towards the crib and relaxing him down on the bed before turning to look at Kate who had moved closer to the sleeping redhead while she continued to fight sleep. "When I said that you needed sleep Kate, I meant that you need to go to sleep" Rick declared as he slowly moved towards the bed and joined her, his arm tightly wrapping around her as she continued to watch the little girl who was sleeping beside her. "Are you asleep?" Rick asked a few moments of silence.

"Yes" Kate smiled, a small laugh leaving both their lips as she turned to face him. "I'm fast asleep Rick" she teased as the writer rolled his eyes before leaning forward to kiss her again. Watching as the lightning flashed through the room, Kate felt the small smile cover her face as Rick pulled her closer to him. "I love the thunder and lightning actually, it's one of my favourite weathers. I think sunny weather is so overrated sometimes" she admitted.

"I know you love it Kate, you're a strange woman like that sometimes. You not the kind of woman who can just enjoy the sun" Rick replied gently as they both looked towards the window to watch the pouring rain. "I got a phone call today" the writer admitted as she nodded slowly, staring at him as he waited for her to tell them more. "We have an event coming up" he admitted.

"We?" she asked quickly.

"Well, I thought you'd like to come along with me Kate" he admitted as she remained silent for a moment. "A nice dress, some new shoes, your hair and make-up done perfectly as always" he explained as she bit into her lip, already excited about the evening. "I thought you could do with a night out, some dancing and conversing with people who have nothing to do with the force or with AJ" he admitted.

"Sounds wonderful Rick, when is it?" she asked as she shut her eyes and relaxed in the centre of the bed.

"Tonight actually" he stated before shutting his eyes and burying his face into the pillow as his wife sat up in shock.

"Tonight? You mean tonight as in this evening?" Kate questioned. "How the hell am I supposed to have a dress and some shoes by tonight Rick? None of my dresses fit properly at the moment; at least not nice enough for a night out with your lot" she moaned as the writer remained silent. "Richard Castle if you don't want me to push you out of this bed and force you to sleep on the floor, you will tell me how I'm supposed to look after our son, find a dress and shoes, get a babysitter and then be ready for tonight" she listed as he looked at her with a large grin. "Richard" she warned.

"Just wait and see Kate, now get some sleep beautiful" he declared, pulling her down beside him before tightly wrapping his arms around her, not giving her the ability to move.

"I hate you sometimes, I really really hate you sometimes Richard Castle" she muttered as he shook his head, knowing that she loved him more than anything in the world even though she wanted to kill him more than anything right now.

XOOXOOXOXOOXOXOXO

"You're such a cute little monkey AJ" Kate giggled as she washed her son carefully, smiling at the amount of water that was going over her clothes as she bathed her son. "You like bath time don't you?" she whispered as the small boy squealed at her, his legs splashing the water all over the place as she continued to laugh. "You get that from your mommy, your daddy doesn't like bath time. He likes a quick shower, mommy likes the bath" Kate admitted, unaware that the writer was watching in silence through the small opening in the door. "I could spend hours in the bath".

"I think you have before" Rick laughed as he entered the en-suite, Kate smiling as Rick picked up the towel and carried it towards her. "Come here swimmer, you need to get all dry now. You need to get dressed, it's going to be a busy day" Rick declared as he lifted his son out of the water before tightly wrapping him in the fluffy yellow towel that he'd bought. "You're such a wonderful baby" the writer smiled, the two of them falling silent as a knock on the door disturbed them.

"Come in" Kate smiled, watching as Alexis pushed the en-suite door open and stared at them for a moment. "What's the matter sweetheart?" Kate asked as Alexis smiled at her.

"Could you help me with my homework mommy? I'm stuck now" Alexis questioned as Kate nodded and looked across at the writer who smiled and held AJ close to his chest.

"We'll be fine Kate" the writer explained as Kate stared at him for a moment before following Alexis out of the room towards the kitchen where she was working.

"Now where's this challenging homework that my little genius can't do?" Kate asked quietly as Alexis giggled and nodded, leading her towards the pile of homework she'd created.

XOXOOXOOXXOOXO

"Are you ready to see your new dress beautiful?" Rick asked as Kate sat on the couch with AJ resting across her lap, amusement covering her face as she stared at him for a moment. "Would you like to open the box Mrs Castle?" he smiled as he carried it towards her and held it out as she smiled and lifted the lid off before staring in amazement. "Now do you like this or do you like this?" Rick questioned as he put the box down on the couch and lifted out the deep blue dress as shock covered her face.

"I love it" she whispered before lifting AJ up to stare at the dress as well. "What do you think baby boy? Will mommy look nice for daddy's party tonight?" Kate asked as Rick walked towards them and gently pressed a kiss to both their foreheads before staring down at Kate.

"She'll look beautiful like always won't she AJ?" Rick smiled proudly as Kate rolled her eyes before kissing him quickly and laughing when Rick lifted the small baby into his arms. "You have the most beautiful mommy Alexander James Caste, she could have been a model or an actress or a stripper but you're not going to learn about strippers until you're a lot older" he explained as Kate glared at him.

"Rick no stripper talk around my baby" Kate stated as she stood up and took AJ from him. "Daddy's a very silly man AJ, he doesn't know when to stop talking sometimes" she admitted as Rick's arm tightly wrapped around her hips. "But that's part of the reason why we love him little man? We love him because he's so much fun to be around" Kate cheered as the writer smiled at her before kissing her gently. "Have you booked a babysitter?" the brunette asked before a knock at the door filled the room. "Is that the babysitter?" she questioned.

"Yep, why don't you go and let them in and then we can get ready?" the writer smiled as she nodded and walked towards the door, resting AJ on her hip as she smiled happily. The idea of having a night practically alone with her husband was exciting her and she couldn't wait to make herself look reasonably sexy for the first time since she'd given birth to their son. Opening the door, Kate laughed as Lanie quickly held her arms out for the small.

"Give me the cutest baby in the world now and no one gets hurt" Lanie squealed as Kate nodded and passed her son to the excited medical student who smiled down at him while Javier rolled his eyes behind his girlfriend.

"Hey Javi" Kate whispered as she hugged him quickly before stepping away and running her fingers across AJ's hair. "I should go and get dressed, thank you for doing this. I'm actually really excited about tonight" she admitted as Lanie nodded and smiled across at the writer who gave them a quick wave before disappearing.

"Where's Alexis?" Javier asked, noticing that the redhead wasn't currently present.

"She's reading her book upstairs, she'll be so excited to know that you're here" Kate admitted as he nodded and stared across at his girlfriend who was still beaming at the baby in her arms. "I think you're going to need her company anyway" Kate added as Javier groaned, knowing that Lanie and babies were never a good mix! "Wait till you have your own" she teased.

"What did I tell you about giving her ideas?" Javier warned as the brunette laughed. "Now go and make yourself look lovely Kate, you don't want to miss the big event" he explained as she rolled her eyes before excusing herself and disappearing down the corridor to enter her bedroom. Laughing as the writer walked out of the en-suite in his tuxedo, Kate felt herself bite into her lip as she took in how amazing he looked.

"Hello Mr Bond" she teased as he raised his eyebrows, tightly wrapping his arms around her as she squealed.

"Does that make you my bond girl Mrs Castle?" he questioned as she shrugged before kissing him quickly and stepping away. "Go and make yourself look absolutely stunning in your brand new dress, I'll be watching to make sure that Lanie doesn't kidnap our son".

"She wouldn't dare try, people know how scary I am when my family is under threat" she admitted as he nodded slowly. "I'm a possessive wife and an even more protective mommy" she giggled as he ran his fingers across her cheek for a moment before sighing.

"Stop making me want to kiss you, you need to get dressed or we'll be late tonight and I know that you hate being late wonderful" he ordered before disappearing towards the door and blowing her a kiss as she rolled her eyes at him. Even though he was the cheesiest man in the world, she couldn't help but adore every quirk he had.

XOOXOXOXOXXO

"Oh Kate, you look absolutely stunning" Lanie smiled as the brunette walked into sight, everyone turning to look at her as she blushed and stared across at her husband. "That dress is gorgeous on you, it really flatters you Kate" the medical student cheered as Rick walked towards her before stealing a quick kiss as Alexis and Javier both groaned at them.

"You're stunning, always are and always will be Katie" he whispered against her lips as she locked eyes with him. "Shall we go?" he asked as the brunette nodded and laced her fingers with his, staring down at their joined hands in amazement before looking across at her friends and children.

"When will you be home?" Alexis asked as she stared at her mom and dad who were standing close together with large smiles covering their faces.

"We'll be home by the time you wake up in the morning" Kate promised as she walked towards the redhead and pressed a kiss into her hair for a moment before smiling. "Watch Lanie and Javi, make sure they behave themselves" Kate declared as Alexis nodded, the brunette getting two glares from her friends as Rick laughed at her. "I love you beautiful".

"Have fun mommy, daddy" Alexis smiled, waving across at them as they nodded and walked towards the door together.

"So where is this event?" she asked quickly as the writer shook his head at her, not wanting to give anything away as he held up the tie. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's a tie" he commented as she stared at him.

"I know that, why have you got a spare one?" she asked, staring at the tie he was already wearing perfectly.

"This one is to blindfold my beautiful wife with" he teased as Kate groaned. Why did she need to be blindfolded this time? They went to hundreds of these and never before had she had a tie over her eyes! "Trust me?" he whispered.

"I trust you" she replied simply, allowing him to wrap the material around her eyes before he took hold of her hand. "Don't let go" she whispered, hating how pathetic she sounded.

"I'll never let go of you Kate" he smiled lovingly, stealing a quick kiss from her before leading her into the elevator.

XOOXOXOXOOOXOXO

"Rick are we nearly there?" Kate laughed as she sat beside him in silence, his hand still holding hers as she waited patiently for an answer. Feeling the car stop, Kate gasped as she turned her head to look in the direction of the writer who smiled at her in amazement. She was beautiful, even if he couldn't see the eyes he was so madly in love with. "Are we there?" she asked, a small smile dancing across at her face as he leant across to kiss her.

"We're here beautiful" he whispered, stopping her hands from moving as she laughed. "Don't peak, it's still a secret" he laughed, climbing out of the vehicle as she sat nervously in the back, waiting for him to take hold of her hand again. Hearing the car door open, Kate laughed nervously as the writer grabbed hold of her hand and helped her out of the vehicle as she remained completely silent. "We just have to walk a little bit and then we'll be fine" he declared as she stopped for a moment.

"Rick what the hell is going on?" she asked, the writer quickly noticing that she wasn't angry because of the large smile that was covering her face. "Rick, I want to go home, this is just freaking me out" she stated as the writer groaned. "Rick just take this stupid thing off me, I want to go home, I don't like not knowing where we are" she moaned, the writer staring at her for a moment before moving closer to remove the tie from her face. Looking around her, Kate felt the shock cover her face as she found herself standing with him completely alone outside a building. "Rick where are we right now?" she asked in amazement, realising that there wasn't any book event and he'd lied to her.

"I just wanted to surprise you" he admitted as a small smile decorated her face. "I wanted to take you out feeling beautiful and give you the romantic evening you deserve where it was just us two together for the night" he explained, shocked when the brunette tightly wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him.

"You wonderful romantic man" she giggled lightly as he shrugged and held her close. "So where are we Rick?" she whispered as they laced their fingers together and began to walk into the building together; her smile continuing to grow as she took in everything. "This is wonderful Rick, this is absolutely beautiful" she admitted as Rick stared at her in amazement, glad that she was taking this well as they entered the small room where a table was seated in the middle of the room. "Are we having dinner?" she asked.

"We're having dinner" he declared as he pulled a chair out for her before pressing a kiss into her hair and moving towards his own chair.

XOOXOXOXOXOX

"Dance with me" Rick smiled as he stood up and held his hand out for her as she bit into her lip for a moment, unable to stop herself from nodding as she took hold of his hand and stood up, laughing when he pulled her into his arms and they began to dance along to the music that was softly playing in the background. "Are you enjoying yourself Katie?" the writer asked as she nodded and stared up at him in amazement.

"I'm really enjoying myself, this was perfect" Kate laughed, kissing him quickly as the writer laughed and spun her around as a giggle left her lips. "Maybe we should call, see if AJ is okay" she whispered as the writer stared at her in amazement, not surprised at how she'd gone from talking about their date to their son. "I'm sorry, I just worry about him. It's his first night without us there and I miss him so much" Kate smiled before kissing him again. "You look amazing in a tuxedo Rick, really sexy actually" she whispered against his lips as he stared down at her in amazement. She honestly was extraordinary! "I think you should wear this all the time".

"It would be a nightmare when I'm cooking or eating or doing anything with food or drink, you know that I'm terrible when it comes to not getting food down myself. I'm worse than Alexis" he laughed as Kate nodded in agreement, running his fingers across his chest as she sighed. "Stop teasing me with those wonderful fingers of yours" he moaned, staring down at her hands as she bit into her lip.

"I think we should head home" she whispered in his ear as he watched her for a moment. "I think we should go home, send Lanie and Javi back to theirs and then we can have some alone time in our bedroom" she explained as the writer nodded and kissed her quickly before lifting her into his arms. "Why do you have this terrible habit of carrying me everywhere?" she asked.

"I like carrying you, makes me feel strong" he admitted, a laugh leaving her lips as she cuddled into his neck. "Happy?" he asked.

"Happy" she repeated before sighing. "I can't believe you did all of this for me Rick, you really are an amazing husband" she stated, kissing him quickly before he carried her towards the exit, wanting to keep her in his arms forever.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Entering the apartment in silence, Kate smiled as she looked across the room at the couch to see Javi and Lanie fast asleep together. Looking across at her husband, Kate sighed as the writer tightly wrapped his arms around her for a moment before sighing.

"They're sleeping and I don't want to wake them up" Kate stated as the writer nodded, knowing that was a goodbye to their love making. "We can do it tomorrow when the kids are in bed" she smiled as the writer nodded and followed her into the bedroom, Rick watching as she disappeared into the nursery before reappearing a few seconds later. "He's fast asleep" the brunette admitted as the writer nodded and slowly removed his jacket and shirt while Kate shut the nursery door and began to undo her dress.

"Stop right now Kate" he warned as she looked across at him in confusion.

"What?" she whispered in amazement as he walked towards him topless before sighing and resting a hand on her back for a moment.

"I might not get to make love to you tonight Kate but I want to undress you, I want to at least feel you under my hands" he admitted as she giggled lightly when he slowly undid the zipper at the side of her dress before slipping her down her body. "You really are wonderful" he whispered as he ran his fingers across his bare skin.

"I'm glad you think so".

**I'm not sure about this chapter but it's the best I could come up with. Also, I'm worried about whether you're still enjoying it because of the reviews so are you still interested or do you want me to end this? **


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay you need to be really quiet, we don't want to wake her up" Rick smiled as he looked down at his daughter to see her beaming up at him with the tray in her hands, obviously desperately trying to concentrate on carrying on the tray as he kept AJ in his arms. "Wait here for one minute" the writer laughed quietly before pushing the door open the see Kate lying in the middle of the bed fast asleep. Looking across at Alexis, Rick quickly nodded and smiled proudly as she slowly entered the bedroom with the breakfast tray while Rick approached the bed with AJ. "Kate honey, AJ's hungry" the writer lied as the brunette groaned and turned to bury her face into the pillow. "Sweetheart, you just need to feed him and then you can go back to bed" he smiled, watching as the brunette turned to look at him.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY" Alexis squealed as Kate laughed and turned more to see the redhead standing beside the bed with a massive smile covering her face. "We made you breakfast" Alexis explained as Kate nodded and took the tray from her after sitting up and sighing as she looked down to see a stack of pancakes on her plate with four candles in. Climbing up onto the bed, the eight year old quickly cuddled into her father's side while they both watched Kate move to blow out the candles. "Daddy" Alexis shrieked, stopping Kate as panic covered her face.

"What?" Kate questioned as the writer laughed.

"You need to make a wish Katie, that's why you have birthday candles on your pancakes Kate" Rick explained as Kate rolled her eyes, not surprised that her husband and children stuck by these strange traditions. Shutting her eyes for a moment, Kate smiled as she thought of her wish before opening her eyes and blowing out the candles while her husband and daughter cheered for her. "You can eat your breakfast now Kate, you have our permission to eat" Rick laughed after a moment of silence, Kate's smile growing as she slowly removed the candles from her pancakes before sighing and cutting a slice.

"I forgot it was my birthday" Kate admitted as shock covered Alexis' face. "With AJ and everything I just forgot about it" she whispered, slightly ashamed that her family had gone to all this effort for her and she'd forgotten about it! "Thank you for this, this is wonderful" the brunette explained as she leant across to kiss her daughter's cheek before smiling across at her husband who was currently lifting their two month old son into the air. Eating her breakfast in silence, Kate smiled as she quickly finished her pancakes before moving the tray onto the bedside table and relaxing back, grinning when Alexis cuddled into her side and shut her eyes. "Did daddy have you up early?" Kate asked.

"No! I didn't wake her up Kate" Rick practically shouted in shock at her suggestion. "She was already awake, she was excited about giving you your birthday breakfast" he explained as Alexis nodded in agreement before sighing and burying her face further into Kate's side. "Right, I better go and get this one ready for his mommy's big day" the writer explained as he stood up and stared at his son.

"But I haven't fed him yet" Kate stated.

"I might have bottle fed him this morning" Rick admitted as she glared across at him. "I wanted to let you sleep Kate, it's your birthday and surprisingly he wasn't that hungry" he admitted as she rolled her eyes for a moment before nodding, understanding why he'd done it. "Now excuse us boys for a moment" he stated before disappearing into the nursery with AJ while Kate continued to watch in amazement, unable to stop herself from smiling at the crazy writer who had now disappeared from sight. Turning her head, Kate sighed as she found herself staring at the redhead who was currently playing with her messy hair.

"Happy birthday mommy" Alexis whispered again as Kate turned to lie on her side before gently pressing a kiss to her daughter's nose, laughing when the small girl giggled at the action before moving closer to her while Rick slowly opened the door and stared at his wife and daughter for a moment.

"What do you think?" the writer asked as Kate turned and stared at the baby grow Rick had put AJ in. "I bought it yesterday, it's cute" he smiled as Kate sat up and held her arms out for her son who was currently wearing an 'I love my mommy' baby grow.

"I thought we'd agreed that we weren't going to put him in clothes that had slogans" she sighed, taking their son into her arms as he shrugged and pressed a kiss into her dark hair. "So what are we doing today?" Kate asked as she relaxed back against the headboard while AJ lay across her thighs, kicking his legs as he rested against her in silence.

"I'm not telling you Kate" Rick teased as she groaned. "Just get dressed" he ordered, her eyes rolling as she stared down at their half asleep son. "This is what happens when he gets to cuddle with mommy, he gets so comfortable that he just falls asleep" Rick sighed as he sat down beside her for a moment before pressing a kiss to her cheek and watching as Alexis crawled out of the bed and left the room. "Come on, you need to get dressed" he moaned, slowly moving the two month old off her thighs before she groaned and slipped off the bed before approaching her wardrobe.

"I need to know where we're going so I can wear the right clothes Rick" she moaned as she turned to look at him. "Come on tell me, tell me, tell me" she begged as she opened the wardrobe before glaring across at him. "Where are my clothes Rick?" she asked, noticing that some of her clothes were missing from the wardrobe.

"They're hidden" he teased as she crossed her arms. "Come on, get dressed" he declared, her eyes rolling as she pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of jeans before sighing and turning to look at him. "What?" he asked.

"Out" she stated.

"But I've seen you naked a million times, I like seeing you naked" he moaned as she shrugged, still slightly nervous about where her clothes were.

"Out" Kate ordered, the writer groaning before he lifted AJ into his arms and slowly left the room, her eyes rolling when she noticed that he hadn't properly closed the door and was clearly looking through. "Richard" she warned, laughing when the door slammed shut.

XOOXOXOXOXOX

"So are you going to tell me where we're going yet?" Kate asked as she fastened AJ into his child seat before looking across at her husband who was moving to sit in the driver's seat as Kate shut the door to her son before moving to sit in the passenger seat. "Come on tell me Rick, where are we going?" she asked, leaning across to kiss his cheek gently as he rolled his eyes, knowing that he couldn't give him. He wanted to keep this a secret and he wasn't going to let her get it out of him! "Come on tell me, please tell me" she whispered, finding his hand before lacing his fingers with hers as her smile continued to grow.

"Katherine Castle, this is a secret so shut up and relax, just enjoy your day and stop stressing about everything" he ordered as her mouth opened in shock. Had he just told her to shut up?

"Did you just tell me to shut up Richard Castle?" she asked as he shrugged and turned the car on, knowing that if he started the car now and got going she couldn't argue with him anymore. "Come on Rick, I just want to know where we're going to go" she moaned.

"We're going on a family birthday trip Kate so relax back and enjoy" he stated as she groaned, resting back against the seat while she focused on the road, wondering where they were going for their 'family birthday trip'.

"Alexis, do you know where we're going?" Kate asked as she turned around to look at the redhead who quickly shook her head. "Are you saying no because you don't know or because daddy told you to do that?" the brunette questioned as Alexis quickly moved her head to look out of the window as Kate laughed and shook her head. "Richard Castle, what did you say to her?" Kate asked as the writer shook his head, knowing better than to tell his wife. "Rick" she warned.

"I promised her a new book if she didn't tell you" he admitted quietly as shock covered her face.

"You better make that two new books Richard for bribing her, that's a disgusting thing to do" she admitted, unable to stop herself from her shaking her head at his behaviour. He bribed his own daughter into keeping their destination a secret! "You really want to keep this a secret don't you?" she asked quickly as he nodded and laughed, knowing that she was running through the options in her brain. "Please tell me where we're going" she begged.

"No, I'm not going to all this effort only to tell you now Kate" he explained, unable to stop himself from smiling at her as she groaned and shut her eyes, attempting to relax instead of trying to get it out of him. "Come on it'll be fun Kate, you love surprises" he smiled.

"I hate surprises and you know that" she moaned while keeping her eyes shut.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Oh my god" Kate practically squealed as the car pulled up outside the Hampton's house as shock covered her face at the sight of her friends and family stood on the beach with a barbecue already on. "You did all of this for me?" the brunette asked as she turned to look at him in amazement as he shrugged and climbed out of the car, a laugh leaving her lips as she continued to stare out at the crowd of people who were waiting for her while Rick helped Alexis out of the car. Climbing out after a few moments, Kate sighed as she moved to lift AJ into her arms before smiling again at everyone who were now waving at her.

"Go on, they're all here to celebrate with you" Rick whispered in his ear, laughing as Alexis quickly ran towards her grandmother who was waiting in the distance. "Happy birthday beautiful" he smiled as she turned to look at him, her lips finding his as she gave him her thank you physically.

"How long are we staying here for Rick?" Kate asked as they slowly began to walk towards the beach together while AJ rested half asleep against his mother.

"Everyone's leaving tomorrow morning but we're here for the next week, maybe more if you want too" he stated as she smiled, staring down at AJ in excitement as she realised that this was the first time they were going to take their new born to the seaside. "Just think Kate, a whole week of our little family by the sea doing whatever we want whenever we want" he whispered in her ear as she laughed before smiling across at her father who was slowly approaching her. "Give AJ to me and go and hug your dad" Rick laughed as Kate nodded and passed their son to him before walking over and tightly wrapping her arms around her father.

"Happy birthday Katie" he whispered into her ear as she relaxed against him for a moment. "Twenty one, it feels like only yesterday that you were in my arms for the first time" he sighed as she rolled her eyes at him before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "That man clearly loves you" he whispered as Kate laughed and looked across to see Rick watching while Lanie held Alexander in her arms while laughing in amazement at the medical student.

"I forgot it was my birthday" she admitted as the older man laughed gently. "When I woke up this morning they had this breakfast made for me and they told me to make a wish and everything was perfect and wonderful and then he drives me here to a surprise barbecue in the Hamptons and I forgot it was my birthday" she listed as her father just rolled his eyes before Kate squealed when the older redhead quickly wrapped her arms around her.

"Happy birthday darling" Martha cheered as Kate giggled lightly, knowing that Martha was probably excited about the prospect of a party. "Did he surprise you?" the redhead asked as Kate nodded, looking across to see Rick now chatting with Kevin and Javier while Jenny and Lanie cooed over her son.

"He did a good job surprising me" Kate admitted as Martha sighed.

"Thank god, I was kind of worried that he wasn't going to last and he would end up telling you everything, he's bad at keeping secrets sometimes" Martha smiled as Kate nodded, knowing that Rick usually ended up being too excited that he needed to tell someone! "Happy birthday darling" she said again before moving away and looking across at her friends to see Javier walking towards her.

"Happy birthday" Javi laughed, a squeal leaving her lips as the cop lifted her over his shoulder before running towards the beach as everyone else laughed at them. "Ready?" he asked.

"Javier Esposito, if I end up in this water, I promise that I will tell Lanie that you want to have her babies and then you'll never hear the end of it" she warned as he shrugged before dropping her in the water, a large squeal leaving her lips when she hit the cold water. "That's it, you better start running" she screamed as shock covered the man's face before he quickly began to run towards the house while Kate followed him.

"He's only having some fun Kate, don't be too hard on him" Rick called out as Alexis giggled beside him, watching as Kate pulled Javier down into the sand. "Kate" Rick laughed, smiling when the brunette turned to look at him with a large beam covering her face, a scream leaving her lips as Javier knocked her down into the sand.

"That's not fair I wasn't concentrating" Kate moaned as he helped her off the ground before laughing and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. It was obvious that they acted like brother and sister to anyone who watched and it was nice to see Kate close to someone who wasn't her father or husband! "I think I should go and get changed" Kate admitted as she looked down at her outfit to see that her t-shirt was now sticking to her body and clearly becoming see through; her arms tightly wrapping around herself as a response.

"Your clothes are in our bedroom" Rick stated as the brunette nodded and pressed a light kiss to his lips before disappearing into the house. "Right, where's the cake?" he asked, watching as Jenny quickly disappeared into the house before coming into sight with the large cake in his hands. "Jenny it looks wonderful".

"It's the least I could do Rick" the blonde smiled as she rested it onto the table before cuddling into her boyfriend's arms while Lanie continued to hold a squealing AJ in her arms, watching as her boyfriend brushed the sand off his clothes. Hearing Kate humming from within the house, Rick watched in amazement as she appeared in sight dressed this time in a summer dress while her hair flowed naturally over her shoulders.

"Come and see what Jenny made for you" Rick beamed as she laughed and took hold of his hand, shock covering her face as she stared at the perfectly decorated cake that was covered in exactly twenty one candles.

"Jenny it's wonderful, thank you" Kate smiled as she wrapped her arms around the petit blonde before staring across at the cake, still amazed that they'd gone to the effort to make her one instead of buying her one. "It must have taken you hours, it looks fantastic" she stated as Jenny shook her head.

"Kevin and I made a day of it, we made stupid amounts of cakes" the blonde laughed as Kevin looked down at the ground for a moment.

"The last person to make me a cake was my…" Kate began before falling silent and moving out of her hug with Jenny, Rick's eyes watching her as she approached Lanie and quickly took AJ into her arms, her lips pressing a kiss to his dark curls as she kept him close to her chest. "My mom used to make me a cake every year" she admitted as she sat down and felt everyone watch her, desperate to listen to her story. "Every year there would be a different theme and no matter how busy she was at work whenever I woke up on my birthday I found my homemade cake waiting for me on the kitchen side" Kate laughed as she moved AJ onto her lap, her smile growing as he began to kick his legs at her.

"Come on, I think we need to eat" Rick stated as everyone nodded in agreement.

XOXOXOXOOXXOXO

Watching as the sun began to set, Kate sighed as she reached across for Rick's hoodie before covering her body in the warm jacket and smiling as she looked across at the water. It was beautiful! Today had been wonderful from the breakfast tray first thing in the morning to the surprise barbecue at the Hampton's house to the sunset where she could just listen to the wave's crash against the sand.

"You cold?" Rick asked as he walked out of the house to see Kate sitting in complete silence. "AJ and Alexis are both in bed asleep, they were both shattered" he admitted before moving to sit beside her, his arm wrapping around her body as she relaxed against him and smiled. "Did you have a nice day?" he asked quietly.

"It was a perfect day Rick" she whispered, leaning up to kiss him gently before sighing. "Thank you for being so completely wonderful" she smiled as the writer shrugged, her eyes rolling at him as she moved to lie down against the warm sand. "I loved every single moment of today Rick, it was like a dream" she sighed, watching as the stars became more obvious in the darkened sky. "And thank you for my presents, they were amazing as well" she added, thinking of the numerous amounts of gifts she'd been spoilt with.

"You deserved every single gift Kate" he stated as he leant across to kiss her gently while her fingers ran through his hair. "Only a few more hours to go Kate and then we'll have been married for a year" he added as her smile continued to grow at the idea. She'd been Mrs Katherine Castle for one whole fantastic and emotionally filled year! "Why don't we go up to bed?" he asked as she bit into her lip for a moment before sitting up and staring at him for a moment. "We can go and cuddle and watch a movie" he laughed as she shook her head and stood up, shock covering his face as she pulled the dress off her body and stood on the beach in her underwear. "Or we could get naked" he added.

"Let's go and get naked and have some naughty moments Mr Castle, celebrate my birthday and our anniversary in one go" she cheered as he nodded and stood up, quickly lifting her into his arms as she squealed in excitement.

"Are you sure Kate?" he asked.

"I'm sure Rick, I want to celebrate our way now" she giggled as she gently pressed a kiss to his lips before he carried her into the house, already excited about the next couple of hours of naked Kate!

**I'm sorry that it took so long to update but I kept debating ideas and this is what I came up with! I will be making it more dramatic soon, I promise (it must seem like that's all I say right now). **

**Also thank you for your amazing response to the last chapter, it was amazing hearing from you and I really hope that you will continue to respond in a similar way. Also if there's anything that you would like to see in the story, do tell me and I will see if I can get it into the story because in the end this story is here because of you!**


	6. Chapter 6

Reaching across the bed as she yawned and slowly opened her eyes, Kate groaned as she found that the space beside her was completely empty and the bed was barely warm. Rick had been gone for a long time! Sitting up slowly, Kate felt her smile grow at the sight of the single yellow rose that was decorating the writer's pillow along with a note that was resting beside it. Lifting up the rose, Kate smiled as she brought it up to her nose, her eyes shutting at the sweet scent before she giggled lightly and opened her eyes to grab the note.

_Yellow- Friendship. Thank you for being my best friend Kate, I'm glad that we were friends before we took that step to becoming lovers. Every day I fall more in love with you and yet my friendship with you continues to grow. Thank you for being my friend Kate, sometimes that's the most precious thing about our relationship. _

Looking around the room in search of her husband, Kate groaned as she realised he wasn't in either of the rooms around her. Slipping out of the warmth of the bed while holding the yellow rose in her hands, Kate sighed as she slowly moved towards the bathroom, knowing better than to stray away from her usual schedule. Pushing the door open, Kate felt a small laugh leave her lips at the sight of the bright orange rose that was resting behind the taps of the basin with another card resting beside it.

"Rick what are you doing?" Kate whispered to herself as she lifted the rose up to join her other one before taking the card and sitting on the edge of the bath as she read the second note of the morning.

_Orange- Passion and being completely besotted. Kate I've always been crazy about you from the moment we met in that coffee shop and I hope that our relationship is still passionate even after a whole year of marriage. We fight but that's because we care and our sex life is clearly passionate, especially after how many times we made love last night. I love your passion for life Kate, the way you put one hundred per cent into everything whether it's work or our little family. _

"I need to find a vase" Kate sighed, moving out of the bathroom before sneaking towards the kitchen, trying not to wake up their children while she thought about where the writer had disappeared too that morning. Entering the kitchen, Kate quickly leant up towards the cabinet where the vases were held before sighing and grabbing the closest one; shock covering her face at the white rose that rested in the glass vase. "This better be my present Richard Castle" she smiled, reaching for the note as she slowly moved to rest the other two roses beside her newest one.

_White- everlasting and eternal love. Kate, the only real thing I know is that this will be forever. One whole year and I know that we'll be together until we're old and grey and watching our grandchildren, wondering where all the years went. One whole year Kate and I know that this is was the right choice. _

"Cheesy, cheesy man" Kate laughed, stopping when AJ started to scream upstairs. Moving away from her vase of precious roses, Kate sighed as she quickly ran up the stairs and entered her son's room to see the small boy screaming in the crib. "Hey monkey, you awake now?" she asked as she lifted him into her arms and smiled before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Where's your daddy this morning?" she asked quietly as she looked around the room to see another rose lying on top of the book of children's stories Kate had bought for AJ while she was pregnant. "What is that?" she asked, lifting the rose into her hands as AJ squealed in excitement. "It's pretty isn't it baby? Your daddy is spoiling me today" she smiled, sitting down in the rocking chair before relaxing AJ on her thighs while she reached across for the note. "Do you want me to read it to you baby?" Kate asked, staring at her son for a moment before leaning across to press a kiss to his stomach. "Turquoise- the rose of fertility. A unique rose for the most extraordinary woman in the world, who gave me the most amazing thing possible. You made me a daddy again Kate and a few years ago I never thought that would happen again. You became a mother for Alexis and you gave me our wonderful son and I hope that one day we get to have the chance of having more beautiful babies, hopefully a girl this time" she recited as AJ began to kick his legs at her.

"Mommy?" Alexis asked as the brunette turned to see the redhead poking her head around the open door. Smiling across at her daughter, Kate smiled as she watched her for a moment, noticing that Alexis was strangely nervous.

"What's the matter baby?" Kate asked as the redhead looked down for a moment before stepping into the room, her hands behind her back as Kate continued to watch her. "What's behind your back sweetheart?" Kate questioned as Alexis slowly moved her arms out in front of her to reveal the lavender coloured rose. "Now this is getting silly" Kate laughed as the redhead slowly walked towards her. "Is there a note?" Kate questioned as Alexis nodded and passed her the card before staring across at the other rose.

"That's pretty" the eight year old commented.

"Thank you, your daddy is spoiling me today" she admitted as the little girl nodded and stared at the note as Kate watched her. "Do you want to know what is says?" she asked gently, knowing that Alexis was desperate to be involved in the whole event.

"Yes please" the girl begged as she sat down on the floor and watched as Kate quickly cleared her throat.

"Lavender- Love at first sight. I still remember the first time I saw you Kate. You were behind your so called friends and after you'd ordered coffee they just abandoned you and you were left alone looking so beautiful and wonderful. I remember watching you for a moment before taking that chance to talk to you because I was desperate to know you and be close to you. I'm glad I took that chance because three years after that date I am still completely amazed by your smile and innocence. I think you're the first and last woman I've ever truly been in love with Kate and it feels wonderful" she smiled, tears filling her eyes as Alexis stood up and wrapped her arms around her mother.

"Don't cry mommy" Alexis whispered.

"No baby they're happy tears, happy tears because your daddy is reminding me of all our memories" she admitted as she smiled across at her daughter. "Your daddy is such a romantic sweetheart, he wants to give me my fairy tale" Kate smiled as the redhead beamed at her, unable to stop herself from smiling as she stared at her mom. "Come on you, let's go downstairs and see if we can find you a book to read until your daddy decides to make an appearance" Kate laughed as she lifted AJ into her arms before standing and carrying her son down the stairs with the two roses while Alexis followed her with a large smile covering her face. "Which book do you want to read?" the brunette asked as she rested AJ in his downstairs crib before looking across at the little girl who had jumped into her corner of the couch.

"The one that daddy put in his office, the one about the five children" she explained as Kate nodded and walked towards the office, quickly pushing the door open to search for The Famous Five. Smiling to herself when she found the book on one of the lower shelves, Kate quickly stood up from her kneeling position before looking across at the collection of Richard Castle books that covered the top shelf along with a pink rose that was resting in front of them. "How many more am I going to find Rick?" she asked outloud before leaning up to grab it and the note beside it.

_Pink- Grace, elegance and beauty. Katherine Castle, everyone knows that you're a beautiful young woman. You have this fantastically toned body which looks amazing in both fancy clothes like the long dresses that flatter your figure to your sweats and t-shirts on the days you barely want to move off the couch. You're stunning Kate and you walk with this fantastic grace and elegance which makes everyone watch you when you enter the room and the best bit about it is the fact that when everyone watches you, I can sit there thinking that I'm the man who gets to touch you and love you whenever we want. _

Carrying the book and rose out of the room, Kate sighed as she passed the book to her daughter before pressing a kiss into her hair before approaching the vase and placing the pink in with the mixture of colours that were dancing in front of her. She was being spoilt and she had a feeling that the rose she'd just found wasn't going to be the last.

"Mommy there's one above the television" Alexis stated as Kate quickly turned her body, amazed that she hadn't seen it when she'd put AJ into the crib. Approaching the television, Kate sighed as she took the rose into her hands before sitting down on the each of the couch and staring at the note. Her husband was clearly a hopeless romantic and all she wanted right now was to kiss her husband and tell him that she loved him more than anything in the world and that he could stop spoiling her. "When's daddy coming back?" the redhead asked as Kate shook her head, not knowing the answer to the eight year olds question.

"I don't know baby but I hope it's soon, I want a cuddle" she admitted, wrapping her arms around Alexis before pressing a kiss into her hair. "I'm going to get dressed; you'll be okay with your book?" Kate asked as the redhead nodded and smiled up at her mother as Kate stood up and slowly walked towards the bedroom while her fingers ran through her hair. Entering her bedroom, Kate sighed as she looked out of the window to see the rain beginning to pour down on the sand as the brunette shook her head and began to make the bed before reaching across for her underwear drawer. Even though they were staying for just one week, Rick refused to let them live out of a suitcase and made a habit to fold everything perfectly in the correct drawers. Opening the drawer, Kate rolled her eyes as she found the bright blue rose resting above her underwear. It was a strange colour and clearly wasn't a normal shop bought rose but she couldn't help but love it. Grabbing the note, Kate smiled as she relaxed back against her cushions before laughing at the shortest note that she'd received.

_Blue- the meaning of this one describes you perfectly Kate. Katherine Castle, my fantastic wife, you're extraordinarily wonderful. _

How did she get this lucky? Her husband practically worshipped everything about her and she adored him more than anything in the world. They had two wonderful children and everything was perfect with their lives. Three years ago she was a normal teenager, studying Literature at college and then she'd met this wonderful man and her whole life had changed. Her mom had died and he'd supported her, he'd kept her sane. He was there for every step of the academy and she was there for every step of his and Alexis' recovery after their accident. They were partners and she adored that about them. Hearing a knock at the door, Kate quickly looked up and smiled as the writer popped his head around the door with a large grin decorating his face.

"Come here" Kate smiled as the writer entered their bedroom with a bright pink rose, brighter than the rose she'd received earlier, and a red rose in one hand. "Are these the last ones?" she asked as Rick nodded and sat on the end of the bed as she leant across to kiss him gently, laughing when he pulled away before she got the chance. "That's not fair, I want to thank you" she moaned as he stared down at the final two roses. "Tell me why?" she asked, staring down at the flowers that he was clutching onto. Holding the bright pink rose up, Rick smiled as Kate watched in amazement.

"Thank you for being the love of my life Kate" he whispered as she slowly took it from him before bringing it to her nose and taking in the sweet scent that radiated from the flower. Staring down at the red rose, Rick sighed as he found Kate's hand and slowly slid it into her fist to join the other two flowers as she remained silent. "I love you, I always will" he stated, leaning across to kiss her gently as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself onto his lap. "Do you like them?" he asked as she nodded.

"It was amazing Rick, thank you for everything. It was a wonderful surprise" she smiled, unable to stop the tears that were running down her cheeks. "Stupid happy tears, I started crying when Alexis gave me hers" she explained as she buried her face into his neck and listened to him laugh. "Come on, I'll make you breakfast, my treat" she declared, standing up before lacing her free fingers with his and leading him out of their bedroom. "Who fancies pancakes for breakfast?" Kate asked as both Rick and Alexis screamed yes, a laugh leaving Kate's lips as she ran into the kitchen and finished placing her collection of roses into the vase. "Perfect" she whispered, resting him on the table as Rick watched her in amazement. She really was wonderful. "Why did you choose ten roses? Six and twelve are the traditional numbers" she asked.

"Because ten means you're perfect" he stated simply as she blushed gently.

XOOXOXOXOXOXO

"I hate that it's November, the weather is so hormonal" Rick moaned as he stood by the window and stared out at the large waves and the rain that had increased since that morning. "What are we going to do now?" Rick asked, turning around to look at his wife who was currently holding her son to her breast while he sucked quietly; take everything he needed from her. "Kate, this is supposed to be our special day and it's raining" he moaned as the brunette rolled her eyes.

"We'll build a fort in the living room Rick; we'll cuddle up with our babies and watch movies all day. I don't want a massive day where you spoil me and I spoil you, I want us to spend the day with our children together" she stated as he smiled and leant across to kiss her as she laughed gently.

"You really are wonderful" he declared as she rolled her eyes and looked down at her son who had now moved away from her. "Give me my boy" he cheered as Kate laughed and passed the baby to her husband before sorting her clothes out; loving how in sync they were in this. What she had with Rick was special, she knew that. She knew how wonderfully lucky she was when it came to the man she'd married. "Come on, let's go build a fort" Rick smiled as he finished burping their son and walked towards them while Kate followed him out of AJ's nursery.

"I haven't given you my present yet" she blurted out, suddenly remembering that she hadn't given him her gift yet while he'd spoilt her like she was a queen.

"I haven't given you yours either" he stated as she stopped. There was more? How could there be more? He'd already given her ten roses that he had put so much thought into so everything had a meaning! Her gift already felt bad in comparison, she felt like she hadn't put any effort into their anniversary gift and she was beginning to worry about whether he'd be upset. "Kate what's wrong?" he asked.

"You've bought me more things?" she asked as he nodded, taking in her shock as she slowly began to walk into the living room with him. "Rick stop buying me things, the roses were enough" she moaned as he shrugged, resting AJ down before he turned to look at his daughter who was currently buried in her book.

"Lex we're going to build a fort sweetheart and watch some movies, want to help?" Rick asked as the redhead nodded and put her book down before quickly jumping off the couch and smiling at her parents. "Can you go and grab all the blankets and pillows you can find pumpkin?" the writer asked as the little girl nodded and quickly disappeared from a sight, a laugh leaving both adults lips as they took in her excitement. "Help me put sheets everywhere?" Rick smiled as she nodded and followed him to collect the sheets they needed to make their forts.

XOOXOXOXOXOX

"This for you" Kate whispered as she gave him a gift before looking across at their daughter who was fast asleep on the other side of the writer. After four movies, the redhead had finally succumb to the sleep her body wanted and having her fast asleep gave the two adults the chance to kiss and cuddle without the eight year old commenting. Staring down at the wrapped present, Rick slowly removed the wrapping paper before laughing at the gift that was staring at him. "I hope you like it" she whispered as he laughed and turned his head to kiss her quickly.

"Kate these are perfect, thank you" he smiled, staring at the season tickets to the next season of the Knicks. "There's enough for all of us to go as well which is amazing" he declared as she nodded and looked across at the sleeping redhead.

"The first time I met Alexis was on the day we watched our first Knicks game" she admitted as he smiled, remembering how gorgeous she'd looked in her Knicks clothes and her hair pulled back under the baseball cap. "We made pizza and the kitchen ended up looking like flour had exploded everywhere, I was so amazed to finally meet her, she was so perfect that I couldn't help but fall in love with her" she explained as the writer held her close for a moment and felt her bury face into his shirt.

"Thank you for the tickets, they're an amazing idea" Rick smiled, leaning down to press a kiss into her cherry scented hair before relaxing back and shutting his eyes for a moment. "You're present is under the pillow" he declared as she groaned and moved away from him to slide her hand under the pillow before removing the envelope. "I hope you like it" he smiled, watching as she slowly removed the present from the envelope.

"Rick" she whispered.

"It's a weekend spa trip for you, Lanie and Jenny. I thought you could do with some girl time without worrying about work and AJ and Alexis, you need to get away and just be Kate for a couple of days" he admitted as she squealed and leant down to kiss him for a moment. She'd defiantly been spoilt today.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" she squealed as he laughed and pulled her close to his body. "I have defiantly been spoil today Rick, I just hate myself for not buying you more things" she admitted as he watched her, his hand cupping her cheek as he stared at her for a moment in silence.

"The tickets mean more to me than anything Kate because it's a family thing, something we can do together with our kids" he explained as she nodded and cuddled into his side. "Happy anniversary wife" he whispered silently.

"Happy anniversary husband" she laughed, kissing him quickly before shutting her eyes and sighing. This had been perfect!

**It's long and I hope you don't find it boring so please review and tell me what you think, I want to know what you think of Rick's crazy flowers and everything else. **


	7. Chapter 7

"Get back in bed Rick right now" Kate ordered as she watched her husband climb out of their bed, the writer laughing as he turned to look at her, unable to stop himself from smiling at the sight of his wife lying in the middle of their bed with the duvet draped across her naked body while her dark hair contrasted with the white pillow. Sitting down, Rick smiled as she pulled him down to lie next to her before kissing him gently as he moaned against her lips. "Where were you going Rick?" she asked as he stared at her in amazement, taking in the smile that was growing on her face.

"I was going for a walk, I wasn't disappearing I promise. You know how much I love cuddling up with you Kate, especially when you're naked" he explained as she rolled her eyes and cuddled up into his side as he buried his face into her hair, enjoying the small smell of cherries that always reminded him that he was defiantly married to her and she was cuddled up beside him. "Kate can we talk about something while the kids are asleep?" he asked as she nodded and smiled up at him, waiting to hear what he wanted to discuss. "Kate can we talk about work?" he asked as she groaned and stared up at the ceiling for a moment.

"What about it?" Kate questioned as she stared up at him for a moment.

"When are you going to go back? How are we going to work this with AJ and everything?" he asked as she shut her eyes, not wanting to even think about going back to work. She adored her job, she adored all the thinking she had to do and the justice she felt when they put people behind bars but she was a mom now and she couldn't imagine not being with her baby boy especially after two months of spending every day with him. "Kate whatever you choose to do I will support you, I want you to be happy with what you choose to do" he admitted as she nodded slowly and kissed him gently, unable to stop herself from smiling at him. Why was he so lovely?

"I don't know what I want Rick" she moaned as she buried her face into his side. "I want to work, I'll go crazy if I don't but AJ's my baby and I can't imagine not spending the day with him" she admitted as the writer listened to her, wanting to understand everything she was feeling. "I don't want to risk missing anything Rick" she admitted as he continued to watch her. "I don't want to miss him crawling for the first time or his first word or watching him sit up and pull himself up to stand" Kate stated as the writer leant down to kiss her quickly.

"Kate, you don't have to go back for work until you're ready. Some people don't even go back until their kids start school" he smiled, trying to calm her down as she nodded and kissed him before sitting up and groaning when AJ clearly started to scream down the baby monitor. "I think someone wants their mommy" he admitted as she nodded and slid out of the bed and grabbed his t-shirt and boxers before pulling them over her body before running out of the room to get her son. Entering her son's nursery, Kate quickly lifted the screaming boy into her arms before pressing a kiss into his dark curls.

"What's wrong baby?" the brunette whispered as she rested him for a moment against her chest and walked towards the window to see the waves crashing against the sand. "Look baby, isn't it beautiful?" Kate smiled, pointing towards the sea as AJ began to calm in her arms while Kate stared out of the window at the view. "Shall we go and see daddy baby? I'm sure he'll want a big cuddle from his baby boy" Kate asked as she stared down at her son before walking out of the room and looking across to see the writer standing in the kitchen preparing two cups of orange juice and moving towards the couch with a large smile covering his face. Resting their drinks on the coffee table, Rick quickly patted the space beside him as Kate laughed and moved to sit beside him as he nudged her so her head was lying on his thighs while AJ rested on her stomach on his own stomach while she rested her hand on her son's back.

"I'm amazed that Alexis is still asleep" Rick admitted as Kate laughed gently and stared up at him.

"She was up till stupidly late last night trying to finish her book, I went into AJ's room to feed him at around two am and found her sat in her bed with her book" she explained as the writer laughed, not surprised that his daughter had fallen asleep late that night. "So I think it'll be a while before she's awake Rick, she was defiantly determined to finish that book" she admitted as the writer nodded and leant down to kiss her as she continued to smile against his lips while AJ squealed. "I don't think someone likes not being the centre of the attention" she declared as they both looked across at their son who was lying against his mother's chest.

"Why don't we go and give him a bath?" Rick suggested as Kate nodded, both of them knowing that their son was defiantly a child who adored water. Lifting him from Kate's stomach, Rick smiled as his wife stood up and stared at them for a moment before walking off towards their bedroom, knowing their bath was the easiest to give him a bath in. Following Kate into their en-suite, Rick smiled as he watched her run the bath before turning around to look at her son and husband before holding her arms out for her baby. "I do believe mommy wants to steal you from me monkey" Rick whispered to his son as Kate rolled her eyes and took AJ from him before slowly removing his clothes and watching as Rick stopped the running water.

"Thanks partner" Kate joked as he smiled at her.

"No problem partner" he teased before Kate knelt down beside the bath and slowly moved her son into the water, laughing when their son began to squeal. "He's defiantly a water baby Kate, there's no doubt about that" Rick commented as he knelt down beside his wife and slowly ran his fingers across his sons stomach as he continued to squeal in excitement. "Alexis used to hate the bath when she was a baby so I'm happy he likes it" Rick admitted as Kate turned around to look at him for a moment, keeping her hand under AJ's head as the writer leant across to kiss her quickly. "I'm glad we had baby together".

"Don't worry writer man; he's not going to be our last child Mr Castle. We're defiantly going to have lots of babies over the next few years" she promised as he nodded. "I kind of love being a mommy and I kind of enjoyed being pregnant" she whispered as his eyebrows rose. Meredith had hated everything about being pregnant! She hated gaining weight and feeling sick and everything about having her baby!

"Did you really like being pregnant Kate?" he asked as she nodded and smiled at him before looking down at their son and brushing some water over his stomach, a squeal continuing to leave his lips as she continued to cover him in water.

"I adored being pregnant, I loved the fact that my body was changing to accommodate our baby. It was an amazing experience. Although next time, I want to give birth in a hospital with a proper midwife and pain killers" she admitted, leaning across to kiss him quickly before he reached across to grab a towel; knowing that it was time to get their son out of the bath. Lifting AJ out of the bath, Kate laughed as Rick tightly wrapped the towel around his son before taking AJ from her. "Do you want to dress him?" Kate asked.

"Sure" Rick smiled as Kate kissed him quickly before leaving the en-suite. Following the brunette out of the room, Rick quickly disappeared out of their bedroom before entering the nursery and resting AJ on the changing table. Grabbing a new baby grow, Rick smiled as he stared at the outfit he'd chosen. It was one Kate had bought during her pregnancy on the day they'd found out they were having so she'd gone and bought a navy blue and light blue stripped baby grow that was overly stereotypically male. Dressing his son quickly, Rick smiled as the small boy continued to kick his legs at him. "What are you doing monkey man?" he asked, leaning down to kiss his stomach before the door creaked open and Kate walked in, dressed in a new pair of sweats and t-shirt as she stared at her son, amazed to see him in the stripped outfit.

"He looks cute" Kate commented, laughing at AJ' spiked hair. "Alexis is completely out of it, there's no waking her up today but she obviously finished her book" Kate explained as the writer nodded and turned to look at her, resting AJ on his hip as she walked towards him and shut her eyes for a moment as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"What's wrong Katie?" he asked as she bit into her lip and looked up at him after a moment of silence.

"I don't know whether I'm ever going to be ready to give this up to go back to work" she admitted as she stared at her son.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Hearing a loud knock at the front door, Kate groaned as she looked up at the writer who she was currently cuddle on the couch with while AJ rested on her thighs fast asleep. Groaning as another knock at the door ran through the apartment, Kate quickly shut her eyes as the writer laughed and leant down to kiss her gently before attempting to move from underneath her; desperately attempting not to disturb their sleeping son.

"Don't go, whoever it is can disappear. We don't know anyone here anyway, they probably have the wrong house Rick" Kate moaned as the writer shook his head and finally stood up as Kate continued to stare at him. Watching as he disappeared towards the door, Kate sighed as she stared down at her sleeping son before looking across to the other side of the room where Alexis was curled up in an armchair with a new book in her hands. "What's your book about sweetheart?" Kate asked as the redhead looked up at her with a small smile covering her face.

"It's about musical instruments" the redhead admitted as Kate nodded. "Do you think I could learn to play an instrument mom?" she asked as Kate nodded, knowing that was possible and Rick would probably love the fact that she wanted to start something new. He was always searching for new things for their little girl to do.

"I think you could do anything Alexis" Kate smiled as the redhead beamed. "What instrument do you like the sound of?" Kate questioned as the eight year old flicked through the book before holding it up to reveal the picture of a violin. "You want to learn the violin?" the brunette questioned as Alexis nodded and smiled while Kate hummed for a moment, trying to think about what Rick would think about his daughter playing one of the most annoying instruments when a person was first starting out.

"Do you think daddy will let me?" Alexis asked as Kate heard footsteps approaching them.

"I think you should ask him yourself" Kate smiled, waiting for the writer to walk through the door. Watching as the door opened, the brunette beamed as the writer reappeared with Javier and Kevin following him; her smile quickly disappearing and being replaced with shock. "Why are you here?" Kate immediately asked as Rick leant down and took AJ off her, disturbing the small boy who started to scream at being woken up from his nap. "Rick?" Kate asked.

"Can we talk to you in private Kate?" Javier asked as the two men remained by the door looking extremely serious.

"What's going on?" Kate questioned, obviously suspicious about why her son had been forced away from her when he had been fast asleep. "And give him back, he was sleeping" Kate moaned, holding her arms out for her son as Rick shook his head; knowing that Kate needed to talk to her friends and colleagues. "Richard Castle, give him to me now" Kate warned.

"Kate we really need to talk to you" Kevin stated as Kate looked across at him.

"I'm on vacation with my family" Kate whispered, not wanting work to trespass on her family time. "Surely this could have waited until I was home again" the brunette moaned as both men shook their heads at her.

"Kate it's about your mom's case".

**So what do you think? Please review I love hearing from you and your response has been amazing so far. **


	8. Chapter 8

Standing up as she took in what her friends had just said, Kate shook her head as she stared across at her silent children. This couldn't be happening! Not now! Why couldn't they disappear? Why did they have to come here and ruin her vacation? This was her time with her family and they'd ruined it, they'd brought everything she'd boxed away back and she just wanted to throw it all away in the trash. She wasn't doing anything that involved in her mother's case because she wasn't going to be forced into the position of losing her family again!

"Go" Kate ordered, desperately trying not to cry as she stared across at her colleagues. "Please just go" she begged as Rick watched her, knowing that if Kevin and Javi didn't disappear soon she was going to go into melt down. Staring at the two men, Rick quickly led them out of the room as Kate sat back down on the couch before burying her face into her hands, slightly surprised when Alexis' arms wrapped around her. "Hey baby girl" Kate whispered, pulling the eight year old her lap before hugging her close. "So the violin, why do you want to learn that instrument in particular Lex?" Kate asked, desperately trying to get away from the topic of her mother.

"I think it looks cool and none of my friends play the violin, they all play the piano" Alexis admitted as Kate nodded, knowing that Alexis would probably be amazing at anything she tried to learn. "Did you learn any instruments mommy?" the redhead asked, knowing that the brunette wanted to avoid thinking about everything else.

"I can play the guitar and I sing as well baby" Kate admitted as shock covered Alexis' face. She played the guitar? Why didn't she know this? "I'll teach you the guitar if you like?" the brunette suggested quietly as Alexis nodded quickly, already excited at the idea of learning one instrument. Hearing Rick enter the room, Kate sighed as she looked up to see the writer holding AJ against his chest with a small guilty smile covering his face. "Hey" she whispered.

"Javi and Kevin are in the office, I was going to give you a few moments to calm down" he admitted as she glared at him, holding her arms out for her baby. She wanted to cuddle her son; she wanted to hold the baby that she almost lost because of her mother's case. Passing AJ to his wife, Rick watched as she cradled him to her chest as Alexis moved to sit beside her, giving her the space that she needed to hold her son. "Kate, I think you should go and talk to them" Rick whispered as he knelt down in front of her and watched her as she shook her head. "Kate it must be important if they've come all this way to tell you something".

"No, this is our family vacation, I'm not discussing this" the brunette stated as the writer sighed. "I don't want to hear anything about it Rick, I don't want to know anything about this case Rick, I want to be a mommy to our babies not stuck searching for answers that might end up with me dead" she admitted as the writer leant up to wipe away the silent tears that were running down her cheeks.

"Sweetheart just give them a couple of minutes, let them say what they need too and then you can choose to act on it or just ignore it" he begged as the brunette stared down at her son while she continued to shake her head. "Please baby, just a few minutes".

"Don't call me baby Rick, I hate it" she warned as he nodded and leant across to kiss her gently. "Will you stay with me?" she asked as the writer nodded and stood up as Kate climbed off the couch and gently placed AJ in his crib. "Can you keep an eye on AJ for me Lex?" Kate smiled as the redhead quickly nodded and moved to the other end of the couch to look across at her brother. "Come and get me if he starts crying sweetheart" Kate explained, leaning down to press a kiss into Alexis' hair before Rick lead the brunette out of the room towards his office. Entering the book filled room; Kate stared at her two friends who currently sat down in silence. "What's going on with my mom's case?" Kate quickly asked as she sat down in Rick's office chair, wishing that she could just start the day again. She'd had an amazing morning with her son and husband and she just wanted to have more family time again. She hadn't thought about this when she'd woken up in the morning.

"Kate, the men who we arrested for kidnapping you have given us names" Kevin stated as Kate shrugged. So? Why weren't they arresting them? "Kate they're not just names, they're big names" he stated as confusion covered her face.

"Big names?" she asked quickly as Rick stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder, waiting to hear what Kevin and Javier had to say. "What do you mean big names?" Kate asked as she reached up to hold onto Rick's hand, their fingers entwining as they waited for an answer.

"Kate, political people are involved. This is a lot bigger than you could have ever imagined and we're getting names of other victims. This is growing" Javier explained as Kate shut her eyes and remained silent for a moment. "I'm sorry Kate but this is getting so much bigger and we're opening the case" Javier declared as her eyes quickly opened.

"You can't open this case" she announced, standing up quickly as the writer watched her for a moment, knowing her issue with this case being opened again. "Do you want them to come after my son? My daughter?" she practically screamed, turning around when the door squeaked open to reveal Alexis. "Is everything okay sweetheart?" Kate asked before hearing AJ scream. Quickly walking out of the room, Kate entered the living room and lifted her son into her arms before humming as Rick entered the room after a few seconds. "He feels a little hot Rick" Kate admitted as she turned to look at her husband who walked towards her and rested his fingers against AJ's forehead. "Why didn't I notice earlier?" she asked.

"Kate, calm down" he whispered, knowing that she was upset about the case and was now panicking about her skills as a mother. "He's probably just a bit hot, the room's a bit warm after all" he admitted as she nodded and pressed a kiss to AJ's forehead and relaxing him back in his crib and staring at him for a moment. "Are you going to go back and listen to them?" he asked as Kate sat down on the arm of the couch before running her fingers across his stomach as AJ slowly kicked his legs like he always did when he was getting some attention. "Kate you need to go and listen to them" he whispered.

"I don't want to know anything, I want to be here with my babies. I want to keep my babies safe" she explained as she looked across to see Alexis standing in the doorway.

"Kate, they're going to presume you know everything already. If they open this case they're immediately going to presume that you know everything so wouldn't it be better to know everything rather than being completely oblivious?" Rick asked as she stared at him for a moment, knowing that he was being logical while she was being stubborn. "Come on Katie, we need to understand what's going on so we can do whatever we need to do for our babies" he whispered as he leant down to kiss her gently. "You only have to listen and I'll stay with you the whole time, we're going to do this together Kate" he declared as she nodded slowly, still nervous about hearing everything the two cops had to say about the case. "Lex are you going to be okay for a few more minutes with your brother?" Rick asked as the redhead nodded and smiled across at her parents. "I promise we'll do something special tonight, the whole family" he smiled as Alexis beamed at the idea and watched as her parents slowly walked out of the room. Stopping before they entered the office, Rick slowly wrapped his arms around Kate's hips as she buried her face into his neck. "No one's going to hurt you" he promised.

"Rick, I don't want to do this. I don't want to risk it" she admitted as the writer nodded, knowing how much it had to hurt to give up the case but how much it was worth it because of what they'd gained. They had a family now and she didn't want to risk that, neither of them wanted to risk their children getting hurt. "Promise me that we won't look into this, promise me that you're not going to look into this again" she whispered against his lips as he nodded.

"I promise Kate that I'm not going to look into this, I'm not going to risk losing you or the kids. Alexis has just gotten over the whole thing and anything could have happened to you and AJ if the guys hadn't found you when they did, I could have lost you both" he admitted, obviously still nervous about the whole thing, as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the ground for a moment.

"But you didn't and I don't want to take that chance" she whispered as he kissed her quickly. "Let's go and listen to what they have to say and then we can cuddle with the kids and watch some movies and then do something fun. They need some fun today" she explained as she took hold of his hand before they moved into the office to see Javi and Kevin waiting patiently. "Tell us everything" she stated.

XOOOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Politician's, bent cops, her brain hurt from just thinking about everything her friends had told her before excusing themselves and leaving the Hamptons to get back to work. Entering the living room after calming herself down, Kate watched in confusion as she noticed that Rick was holding AJ close to him while the baby only remained dress in a diaper.

"What's going on?" Kate asked as the writer shook his head. Quickly walking over to him, Kate rested her hands on AJ's forehead to feel how hot he was. "He's hotter than earlier, Rick I think he's really sick" she whispered, taking him from her husband as the small boy began to cry. "Hey baby boy, mommy's got you now and she's never going to let you go. Are you feeling sick baby boy?" she smiled down at her son as she gently ran her hand up and down his back while Kate sighed and sat down, desperately trying to make her baby feel better. She hated when either of her children felt sick and she hated that AJ was sick and unable to tell her what was wrong. "What do you do if he's got a fever?" she asked as she looked across at her husband.

"Hope he eats a lot and if it isn't better tomorrow take him to the doctors" Rick explained as she nodded slowly before pressing a kiss into his hair. "Kids gets fevers Kate, it makes them stronger in the end even though it's scary at the time" he explained as she nodded and kissed him quickly before relaxing back for a moment as AJ rested against her. "I'm amazed he didn't get a fever when you were sick, babies pick things up" he admitted as she nodded, running her fingers down AJ's back while Alexis continued to read her book; obviously still waiting for the perfect moment to ask her dad about the violin.

"Lex don't you have something you want to ask your dad?" Kate asked as the redhead looked up while Rick looked down at his wife in confusion.

"What's going on?" Rick questioned as Alexis bit into her lip for a moment. "Is everything okay?" the writer smiled as the redhead smiled for a moment.

"Daddy I want to learn to play the violin" Alexis explained as shock covered her father's face. "Please daddy, please" she quickly added as Kate laughed, knowing how desperate the redhead wanted to learn something new.

"The violin? Are you sure? Why not something like the…?" he began, trying to think of an instrument that wouldn't sound horrific when you were starting to learn. "Is this what you really want to learn?" he asked quickly as she nodded and turned her book around to reveal the image of the instrument she was desperate to learn. "I guess we could get you some lessons, see whether you like them pumpkin" he admitted as Alexis squealed in excitement before running over and tightly wrapping her arms around him as Rick laughed. "Did I really just agree to this?"

"Yes you did Rick" Kate smiled as the writer groaned before laughing and tightly wrapping his arms around his daughter who buried her face into his neck. "Why don't we go for a walk? See if we can cool this one down?" Kate suggested as both Rick and Alexis nodded, the redhead climbing off her father's lap before moving to grab her coat and pull on her shoes. It was clearly windy outside and not the kind of weather where you'd run down the beach in your bikini and it was nice being alone for a while. "I'm going to get him dressed" she admitted as the writer nodded and watched as Kate quickly disappeared to put some clothes on her son.

XOOXOXOXOXXOOX

"What are we going to do Rick?" Kate asked as they walked down the beach together, AJ in her arms while Alexis ran ahead of them. "This whole thing is so much bigger than either of us planned and I don't know whether I want to go home" she admitted as the writer wrapped an arm around her hips before pressing a kiss into her hair.

"Kate, you shouldn't be scared to go home" he admitted as she shrugged. They'd blown up her apartment, kidnapped her from a street when she was heavily pregnant and taken her husband and daughter- what else were they capable of? "Kate this apartment is perfectly safe, we have the best security and everything's going to be fine and our best friends are cops, you're a cop as well and everything's going to be fine" he promised as she kissed him quickly before looking down at their son. "He's still a bit warm but he's defiantly better" Rick commented as he ran his fingers across AJ's head.

"That's good" she commented, kissing his cheek gently before looking across at Alexis. "Rick, I don't know whether I want to go back when there's bent cops around who were involved in my mom's death. What if they're still there? What if I've met them already?" she asked as the writer shook his head and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Kate honey, everyone you know is defiantly an honest cop, everyone you work with is fantastic and they clearly all care about you" he stated as she remained silent. "Would someone who wants you dead go to the effort of caring about you Kate?" he asked, kissing her quickly as she shrugged, knowing that he was probably right. "Don't worry beautiful, no one's going to hurt you again" he promised, Kate laughing when Alexis ran over and tightly wrapped her arms around Kate's hips; Kate smiling at her little girl.

XOOXOXOXXOXO

"Mommy?" Alexis asked as Kate turned in the doorway to look at her for a moment, amazed that the little girl still wanted to talk even though she had been yawning all the way to bed. "Are the bad men coming again?" the redhead questioned as Kate slowly walked towards her and sat down on the edge of the eight year olds bed.

"We think they might be baby girl but they're not going to hurt you again, I won't let anyone hurt my beautiful girl" Kate promised as she leant down and gently pressed a kiss to Alexis' forehead while Alexis shut her eyes. "Are you okay baby?" she asked quickly as the redhead nodded slowly before tightly wrapping her arms around Kate's neck. "Do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?" Kate asked as the eight year old nodded again before moving further up the bed so she was resting against the wall while Kate moved to lie down beside her. "Are you excited about learning the violin when we get back to the city?" she asked, trying to explain to her daughter that everyone would carry on like it would without the threat that was lingering over their family.

"Yes" Alexis admitted before smiling. "And the guitar too mommy, we have to do the guitar together" she declared.

"Of course, I'm going to have you playing the guitar before you know it baby girl. You'll be better at it than me soon" Kate smiled as she gently pressed a kiss into Alexis' hair. "You need to try and sleep beautiful, you need to try and sleep baby girl" Kate soothed as Alexis buried her face into Kate's chest before shutting her eyes. Playing with Alexis' hair as the small girl feel asleep, Kate smiled as she heard the door creak open before she turned her head to see Rick watching her.

"You okay?" Rick asked.

"She was scared" Kate explained simply, knowing the writer would understand their daughter's fear. Slipping out of the bed, the brunette sighed as she gently leant down to press a kiss to Alexis' forehead before moving into her husband's waiting arms. "Rick" Kate whispered as he nodded and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Yes Kate" he replied gently, his eyes shutting as he kept her close.

"I'm scared".


	9. Chapter 9

"Lex honey where are you? We're leaving now sweetheart, so you need to get in the car" Kate called up the stairs before looking out of the front door to see Rick putting AJ into his car seat. Where was their daughter? She had been in the kitchen five minutes ago but the redhead had disappeared and she now had to find the eight year old. Running up the stairs, Kate sighed as she entered Alexis' bedroom to see that everything she'd brought with her had been packed away. "Lex sweetheart, if you come out we can talk out about whatever is upsetting you I promise but please come out" Kate called out as she waited for a response. She just wanted to know that her daughter was okay, she didn't care about anything else. "Alexis please" Kate begged, leaning down to look under the bed before laughing when her eyes found the redhead buried underneath the bed. "What are you doing sweetheart?" she asked.

"Hiding" Alexis stated as Kate rolled her eyes before lying down on the floor. "I don't want to go home mommy" the redhead admitted as Kate looked out, her hand going underneath the bed to take hold of Alexis'.

"Sweetheart we can come back soon I promise" Kate laughed, surprised that Alexis didn't want the holiday to end. She always seemed like the person who would want to go back to normal life and schedule even though the last few days of their holiday had become filled with worry and constant looking over their shoulders to see whether anyone was there who shouldn't be.

"I don't want to go home mommy, I don't want the bad guys finding us and hurting us again. No one's allowed to hurt my little brother, he's tiny" Alexis admitted as Kate sighed and shut her eyes for a second, wishing that she could fit underneath the bed in order to give her little girl the hug that she needed and deserved.

"Come here baby" Kate whispered as the redhead slowly began to shuffle towards her, the two of them smiling when Kate finally got to wrap her arms around her little girl. "No one is going to hurt you, I promise and no one is going to hurt AJ. I'm not going to let anyone hurt my babies, no matter what it means that I have to do to keep you safe" she declared as she gently pressed a kiss into Alexis' hair. "Anyway Javi and Kevin are going to arrest them and then we'll be perfectly fine my girl" she explained. "Now let's go to the car before daddy gets worried" Kate smiled as the eight year old nodded before standing up with her mother and cuddling into her side. "I promise my beautiful girl no one is ever going to hurt you again" she declared as she played with the redhead's hair as they walked out of the room together in silence. Finally leaving the apartment, Kate quickly locked the door before looking across at her husband who was smiling across at her.

"Finally, I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost" he laughed as Alexis walked towards the car and slipped into her seat while Kate leant down to kiss her cheek gently. "Everything okay?" he asked as Kate nodded and smiled up at him before moving out of the way so Rick could kiss his daughter gently before moving away to shut the door and look up at her. "What's going on?" he whispered as she shook her head, not wanting to worry him. "Kate please, just tell me what's going on with my little girl".

"She doesn't want to go home, she's scared that they'll find us and hurt us. She's scared that they'll hurt AJ as well" she admitted as he stood up and tightly wrapped his arms around her. "Rick, I just want this to be over, I just want to be able to go home without our daughter being terrified that someone's going to hurt her" she muttered before he kissed her gently and stared at her. "Rick, she shouldn't be scared of that, she should be just having fun and enjoying her childhood. When she looks back to her childhood all she's going to remember is how I ruined it" she sobbed as Rick held her close for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"No when Alexis looks back on her childhood one day she's going to remember how much you loved her and how you made her life fantastic, even with all of this going on" he promised as she rested her head against his shoulder for a second. "If you want we can stay longer, if that'll make you feel safer" he whispered gently as she shook her head and sighed. They needed to go home. Alexis needed to go back to school and they needed to get back to their lives.

"We need to go home" she sighed as the writer nodded and slowly led her towards her car door. "You're driving?" she asked as he nodded again. She needed to relax, even get some sleep and he was going to give her that chance. "I'm sorry that I brought this into your family, you and Alexis were so safe before you met me".

"And if I hadn't met you, there would be no AJ Kate" he declared. "I would fight everything in the world if it meant I could have our son and our lives" he explained as she smiled weakly before kissing him. "You've made my life so much better, you're so beautiful and wonderful and you've made our lives fantastic even if slightly dramatic" he whispered before kissing her forehead gently and holding her close. "I love you Katherine Castle, no matter what happens" he stated as she nodded and watched as he opened the car door for her before moving out of the way. "Try and sleep beautiful, try and sleep" he whispered gently as she shook her head and stared at him. "Kate you need to sleep, you need to relax".

"I'll relax when this is over, I'll relax when everything's over I promise" she declared as he nodded, watching as she climbed into the car before he leant down and kiss her quickly. "I don't know how I'd cope without you Rick, you're my rock" she admitted as he laughed, amazed that she'd admitted that. Closing the door, Rick slowly climbed into the driver's seat before looking across at his family to see silent nerves covering Alexis and Kate's faces while AJ remained fast asleep. This was going to be a long drive home!

XOXOXOXOOXOOXOO

"Here we are" Rick sighed as he parked the car and looked across at his wife who had been silent for practically the whole journey home. "Welcome home" he whispered as she nodded and leant across to kiss him before looking into the back of the car to see both their kids fast asleep. "You get AJ, I'll get Alexis" he suggested as she nodded again and slipped out of the vehicle before moving towards her son's side of the car. Leaning into the vehicle, Kate sighed as she removed the car seat from the car and gently carried it towards the elevator while Rick slowly followed with their sleeping daughter in his arms. "I think these two need to get to bed and then we'll do something together" he laughed as she nodded again.

"Sounds good" she admitted as they entered the metal box before sighing. They were home! Stepping out after a few moments of silence, Kate sighed as she approached their apartment and unlocked the door before entering the practically dark apartment. Reaching across for the light, Kate smiled as she flicked the switch before moving towards the couch to rest AJ's car seat on the coffee table.

"I'm going to put this one to bed" Rick stated as the brunette nodded and watched him disappear up the stairs. Looking across at her son, Kate smiled as she sat down in the corner of the couch before kicking off her flat shoes and shutting her eyes. Hearing footsteps, Kate turned to see the writer walking towards her. "Let me put AJ in his room and then you can stop being mommy for a while and just be Kate" he declared as she nodded and kissed him quickly before watching the writer took their son towards their bedroom and his nursery. She needed some wife time and she just wanted to be with her husband while their kids were fast asleep. Hearing the door shut, Kate turned to see the writer walking towards her with a small smile covering his face. "Right stand beautiful" he ordered as she rolled her eyes. "Katherine Castle, stand please" he smiled, watching as she slowly stood up and smiled across at him as he tightly wrapped his arms around her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, laughing when he lifted her into his arms and began to carry her towards their room. "Rick, I don't want to have sex" she moaned as he rested her on their bed and shook his head before leaning down to remove her jeans. "Rick I can undress myself" she moaned as he laughed and leant down to kiss her before removing her jeans completely.

"Finish getting undressed and then join me in the bathroom for your surprise" he declared as she laughed and watched as he disappeared into their en-suite and shut the door. Slowly removing the rest of her clothes, Kate sighed as she slowly moved towards their bathroom before pushing the door open and laughing. The room was dark except for the candles that were flicking all over the room and the bath was filled with water and bubbles and everything she loved, including two glasses of red liquid.

"I can't drink" she stated as she felt Rick's arms wrap around her naked body.

"Try it" he whispered as she nodded and leaned across for a glass before taking a sip and laughing.

"I love you Richard Castle" she admitted as she took in the taste of cranberry juice that he'd poured as a replacement to make the picture perfect. "This is amazing Rick, this really is wonderful" she declared as he nodded and tightly wrapped his arms around her. "You get in first" she declared as he nodded and climbed into the bath before looking across at her.

"Get in here Mrs Castle" he laughed as she nodded and climbed into the bath before resting back against him. Resting his hands on her stomach, Rick watched as Kate shut her eyes and breathed out gently as he laughed and continued to watch her. "I can actually feel you relaxing Kate" he laughed as she shrugged and sighed as his arms tightly wrapped around her.

"Tell me a story Rick, tell me a story" Kate whispered as he laughed and stared at her for a moment before sighing, trying to think of something to tell her.

"When you told me you were pregnant with AJ I couldn't believe it, you were this beautiful young woman and I was crazy about you and here we were married and we were going to have a baby. I was terrified about what your dad was going to say and I was scared that you would panic at some point because you were so young and here we were with a daughter and another baby on the way" he explained as she listened in silence.

"This isn't making me feel any better Rick" Kate laughed as he gently tapped his finger against her lips, silencing her as he ran his fingers across her stomach gently.

"But then on the way to pick Alexis up one day I went to the shops and I found myself in a baby shop and I couldn't help but go through all the clothing and I was just staring at the size and then I realised that you were the only woman I wanted in the world to have another baby with" he declared as she smiled weakly before leaning up to kiss him and laughing against his lips. "I just realised that we had made this fantastic little baby together and I knew that this time it would be forever" he explained as she moved her hands to join his on her stomach. She was gorgeous and sexy and he loved her more than anything in the world. Enjoying the silence, Kate groaned when their son began to scream from within the nursery.

"I better go and see him, he's probably hungry" Kate stated, laughing when the writer tightened his arms around her. "Rick he hasn't eaten for hours" she declared as he began to moan, his lips pressing kisses against her neck as she groaned. Why did he have to be wonderful and really sexy? "Stop it writer man, I need to go and feed our baby" she smiled as the writer let go of her and watched as she climbed out of the bath and grabbed a towel before wrapping it around her drenched body before disappearing out of the room. Approaching the nursery in silence, Kate sighed as she lifted her son out of his crib before holding him close to her. "You hungry baby boy?" she asked gently as she carried him out to their bedroom together before sitting down and holding him to her breast as Rick walked out with a towel wrapped around his hips. "Why do you have to be so sexy?" she asked.

"I don't know beautiful, I'm just a lucky man Kate" he declared, kissing her quickly before dropping the towel and grabbing his pyjamas. Dressing quickly, Rick looked across at the brunette to see AJ cuddled up against her quietly while Kate stared down at him for a moment before leaning to down to press a kiss to his forehead, laughing when the small baby moved away from her. "Give me my beautiful son and get some clothes on sexy" he smiled, taking AJ from her while Kate climbed off their bed and grabbed one of Rick's t-shirts before pulling it on and turning to look at her husband. "I love seeing you in batman t-shirts Katherine, you are such a sexy geek" he stated as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Do you like my geek side Mr Castle?" she asked as he nodded and stood up, carrying AJ into his bedroom before reappearing to find Kate lying across their bed while rummaging through his top drawer. Watching her in amazement, the writer smiled as Kate turned her head to look at him.

"What are you looking for?" he questioned as she laughed and relaxed back before staring across at him. "You were just showing off your legs weren't you because you know I can't help but look at them?" he declared as she bit into her lip for a moment before nodding and sitting up. "Alexis is fast asleep and so is AJ so why don't we have some fun? I want to have fun with geeky Kate" he stated as she smiled and kissed him quickly before pulling him down onto the bed. "Hello geeky Kate".

"Hello writer man" she laughed before falling silent. "Did you remember to lock the front door? I mean every single lock?" she asked, her voice filled with panic as he nodded and began to kiss her neck. "Can you go and check?" she whispered.

"But I'm getting to know geeky Kate" he moaned as she looked up at him, the writer groaning before he moved away from her and silently left the room. Sitting up, Kate sighed as she waited for the writer to reappear. Watching as he slowly walked into the room, Kate already knew that the mood was gone, especially when he pulled the blanket up and buried himself under the covers.

"I guess you don't want to know geeky Kate" she whispered.

"Not anymore really, having to make sure a locked door was locked really ruined the mood" he said quietly as she moved under the blanket and moved closer to him. "And I was really looking forward to getting to know geeky Kate, she's one of my favourites" he moaned as she laughed and leant across to kiss him.

"Want to comfort scared Kate?" she asked as he turned around to look at her. "She really would like to feel close to someone and I know that you make a girl feel really safe Mr Castle" she giggled as he laughed and kissed her.

"Scared Kate will do, even though she's not on my favourite list".


	10. Chapter 10

Feeling her toss in their bed again, Rick sighed as he slowly opened his eyes and looked across at his wife who was tossing and turning beside him with sweat running down her face. This woke him up at least twice every night for the past week since they'd returned home and he was starting to worry about her. Reaching across to turn the light on, Rick sighed as he pressed Kate down into the bed to stop her from thrashing around and hitting him before gently pressing a kiss to her forehead as she groaned and slowly opened her tear filled eyes. Letting go of her arms, Rick sighed as Kate tightly wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her close while tears continued to run down her cheeks.

"Want to tell me?" he asked quietly as she shook her head and moved to bury her face into his chest as he relaxed back on their bed. Her clothes were drenched from sweat and he hated the fear that was covering her face. Every night she had another dream and he hated seeing the fear that covered her face when he woke her up and attempted to calm her down. "I'm going to run you a bath" he whispered as she nodded slowly and allowed him to slip out from underneath her hold before disappearing into the en-suite. Hearing the water run, Kate sighed as she sat up and watched as the writer walked out of the en-suite and knelt down on the bed before reaching across for her t-shirt. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me Kate?" he questioned as he began to pull her t-shirt over her head before staring at her body. She'd clearly lost weight and it was worrying him, her ribs were practically showing. "You're tiny" he stated.

"Rick stop" she moaned as he shook his head and ran his fingers slowly down her ribs as she shut her eyes for a moment. "Bath" she whispered as he nodded and stood up, taking hold of her hand as she attempted not to cry as she cuddled into his side. She was embarrassed! She was embarrassed that all she was doing at the moment was being weak and therefore was hurting her family! Rick wasn't sleeping because of her and their children were obviously worried because of the way she was acting. Entering the en-suite, Kate sighed as the writer reached across to stop the water supply before smiling across at his wife who was stood with her arms wrapped around her chest.

"Kate" he whispered as she shook her head and removed the rest of her clothes before slipping into the water, her eyes shutting as she relaxed back against the tub while the writer sat down on the toilet and watched her. She was a different woman to the Kate he'd married! "Katie, what can I do?" he asked as she turned her head to look at him. "What can I do to make you better?" he questioned.

"I'm fine" she whispered as he stared at her, not believing her. "When the bastard who's behind my mom's murder is gone Rick, I'll be fine" she declared as the writer nodded slowly and moved to kneel beside the bath as her hand moved and her fingers laced with his. "When the bastard is gone, I'll be better" she promised.

"No one's going to hurt you Kate" he whispered as she shrugged. "Kate, you need to be confident about this, no one's going to hurt you or me or our babies" he promised as she watched him for a moment before leaning across to kiss him. "Why don't we take the kids somewhere today? The aquarium, the zoo, the museums, just somewhere Kate that isn't here" he suggested as she watched him for a moment before nodding, kissing her quickly as his fingers gently ran across her cheek. "I was thinking that maybe mother could babysit the kids tonight" he suggested.

"I don't want to leave them" she admitted.

"Kate, you need to get out of here for a while, we could go for some dinner and then go to a hotel room for the night. Just the two of us" he declared as he ran his fingers across her face to brush away her hair away from her eyes as she stared at him. "Katie please, let's do something tonight" he begged.

"You just want to have sex Rick" she stated as the writer groaned and leant across to kiss her, not surprised when she turned her head so he couldn't.

"Katherine Castle, yes sometimes I want to have sex with you but I want to be close to you more than ever. Kate you're so lost at the moment and all I want to do is make you safe, I want you to feel safe again" he declared as tears ran down her cheeks again. "I want to make you happy again and whether that's by making love or just cuddling Kate, I don't care" he admitted as he stood up and stared at her, groaning when AJ started to scream. "I'm just going to…" he began as she nodded and watched him walk out of the room. Shutting her eyes, Kate groaned as she attempted not to cry again. What the hell was wrong with her? Why couldn't she be the Kate that was strong? Hearing the door open slowly, Kate smiled as the writer opened the door and walked in with AJ in his arms.

"I'm sorry" Kate whispered as the writer watched her for a moment. "I'm sorry for what I've done, for how I've been acting" she stated as the writer knelt down beside her while she ran her fingers through AJ's curls. "I'm sorry that I've been a bad mom recently and a bad wife, I'm going to get better" she declared as Rick stared at her for a moment in silence. This woman was his wife and she was apologising to him for being bad even though she wasn't doing a bad job. She was shaken up and he hated that! He hated that she felt like she was doing a bad job when she was being brilliant, especially with everything that was going on. "I need to get out, it's starting to get cold" she stated as the writer nodded and stood up, continuing to hold his son close as Kate climbed out of the bath and tightly wrapped a towel around her before pressing a kiss into AJ's hair as he rested against his father, practically asleep.

"You're doing fine beautiful, you're doing really well Kate" Rick promised as she looked at him before they walked out of the en-suite slowly. Carrying AJ into his nursery, Rick sighed as he relaxed his son back into his bed before leaning down to press a kiss into her hair before moving out of the room to see Kate now dressed and lying on their bed with a frame in her hands. "What are you looking at?" he asked as she turned it around so he could see their wedding photo. "I can't believe we didn't have AJ in our lives, it feels like he's been here forever" he admitted as she nodded in agreement before putting the photo back down on her bedside table before patting the space beside her. She wanted to cuddle with Rick, she wanted to cuddle with the amazing man who was her husband and not let go. Sitting down beside her, Rick laughed as Kate tightly wrapped her arms around her husband before shutting her eyes and sighing.

"I want to take AJ to the aquarium, I think fish might interest him actually, it's not like there's anything for him to understand either" she admitted as the writer nodded and moved to pull the blanket around them as Kate remained cuddled up beside him. "I love you Rick".

"Love you too Katie".

XOOXOXOXOXOXO

"Look baby, look at all the pretty fishes" Kate smiled as she pointed towards the tank full of fish as AJ squealed in her arms. "They're nice aren't they?" Kate asked quietly as she gently pressed a kiss into AJ's hair while Alexis squealed in excitement as a shark began to swim past them. "Look at the shark AJ" Kate smiled as she looked across at the writer who was smiling at her in amazement. This was better. Watching as Alexis moved towards Kate, Rick smiled when the redhead tightly wrapped her arms around Kate's hips as Kate smiled gently and ran her free hand through Alexis' hair while they continued to watch the tank in amazement.

"Mommy that shark is massive" Alexis squealed as Kate nodded and looked down at the redhead in amazement. "I wouldn't want to swim with one of those mom, it would eat me in one big piece" the eight year old commented as Kate laughed and nodded in agreement, looking across again to see the shark swimming past them. "This was a good idea, I like the aquarium" she stated as Kate nodded in agreement, realising that this was one of her best ideas. She needed to get her family out of the house and this was a brilliant idea. She'd forgotten how much she loved the aquarium and how much her kid's adored going out places, especially how much Alexis adored learning new things.

"This was a good idea wasn't it?" Rick smiled as the redhead nodded, holding onto her father's hand as they began to walk through the room and approach another area. "It was all mommy's idea, she came up with it last night" the writer admitted as Alexis beamed up at her mother as Kate shrugged and leant down to kiss her daughter's head gently while AJ squealed in her arms. "Give this one to me" Rick smiled as he took AJ from Kate before sighing and pressing a kiss into his son's hair. "I was thinking that we could go to the park later, just the four of us and then we could get milkshakes. I think I know someone who could really do with a strawberry milkshake" he stated, looking across at the brunette who was rolling her eyes at his comment. "I know you want a milkshake Kate and your favourite is strawberry" he declared.

"Why do you have to know me so well?" Kate asked as the writer shrugged and kissed her gently while Alexis rolled her eyes. Why did her parents have to kiss so much?

XOXOXOXXOXOXOO

"Don't you look beautiful?" Martha smiled as Kate walked out of her daughter's bedroom in a dark blue knee length dress, a small smile covering her face as she looked at her mother in law who smiled for a moment. "And you look very skinny darling" she commented, staring down at Kate for a moment as the brunette shut her eyes and groaned. Why did everyone keep saying that? "So do you know where you're going?"

"I have no idea" Kate admitted before she sighed. "You'll make sure all the doors are locked before you go to bed and you'll check the kids rooms as well, just make sure they're okay and sleeping" the brunette listed as Martha rolled her eyes, realising everything that her son had told her was true. Kate was becoming extremely paranoid! "Alexis really struggles to get to sleep some nights so she likes to read and stay up stupidly late but it's normally a good idea to let her read for a while but when she starts to look exhausted, take the book off her and tell her that she must go to sleep, she normally listens" she explained as Rick walked into the living room and wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Is she telling you all those things that you know but she thinks needs to be repeated?" Rick asked as Martha nodded and smiled at her daughter in law who was cuddled up against the writer with a small smile covering her embarrassed face. "Come on you, let's get out of here. Go and have some alone time for a while" he stated as he began to lead her towards the door.

"Please remember to lock the door and I don't just mean the one lock, I mean every lock. Please make sure they're all lock before you go to bed" Kate begged as Martha nodded and watched as Rick dragged Kate out of the apartment, the brunette sighing as she cuddled into her husband's side as they slowly walked towards the elevator together. "So where are we going?" she asked as they entered the metal box, the writer lacing his fingers with hers as she smiled up at him for a moment before he leant down to kiss her gently.

"We're going to dinner and then we're going to a hotel for some us time and we can do whatever you like" he declared as his arms tightly wrapped around her, a small smile starting to cover her face as she leant up to kiss him gently. "Come on, I have a table booked" he stated, leading her out of the lift as she looked up towards the ceiling. Were her kids going to be okay without her there? Would Martha defiantly lock all the doors? Should she tell Rick that she didn't want to leave them for the evening? "Kate, they're going to be fine" Rick promised when he noticed that his wife had stopped moving.

"They're my babies, I should stay here with them" she admitted as the writer pulled her close for a moment before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "They need me, my babies need me here" she whispered as he ran his fingers up to her cheeks for a moment as silent tears began to appear. "What if something happens and I'm not here to keep them safe?"

"It's one night Kate, it's just one night and tomorrow we'll come home and they'll be fine" he promised as she shook her head. She wanted to stay with her babies. She wanted to keep her babies safe and she couldn't do that in another building. "Kate, it's one night and you can phone home as much as you like, I'm sure mother won't mind".

"Rick…" she began as he shook his head and began to lead her out of the building. "Rick please" she begged.

"Kate please, let's just try this for one night. We need to have some alone time, I want to have some time with you where we're not worrying about diapers or homework or nightmares. I just want us to have some time together" he begged as she stared at him before looking down at their joined hands. "I want to spend some time with my wife so let's just try and do this" he whispered as she shut her eyes for a moment before nodding. "Right, let's go for dinner, we shouldn't be too late".

XOOXOXOXOXOXOX

"You bought me flowers" Kate laughed as she entered their hotel suite to see the bouquet that was resting on the bed, a small smile covering her face as she turned to look at her husband. "I've had a nice time" she admitted, thinking about their dinner and how perfect it had been. It had been her favourite Chinese restaurant and they both had soft drinks together and laughed over their meals. It had felt like there was nothing wrong with their world. It was like every single trouble in the world had disappeared during their dinner and that was all because of her wonderful husband. "They're so beautiful" she whispered as she lifted the flowers in her hands and smiled.

"Well I wanted to make you feel special today Kate" he whispered into her hair as she laughed and kissed him quickly before sighing. "So what do you want to do now? We could watch a movie or we could have a bath or we could…" he began as she rested her finger against his lips and smiled. "What?" he asked around her finger.

"Or we could have some fun Rick" she admitted as she moved her finger away from his lips before unbuttoning his shirt and throwing it onto the floor. Hearing a knock at the door, Kate sighed as the writer groaned and stared at her before kissing her quickly. "Do you mind if I go and brush my teeth? I taste of garlic" she asked quietly as the writer nodded and moved towards the door while Kate slid into the en-suite and shut the door. Opening the door, Rick groaned as he felt something being thrust into his stomach before he looked across to see a masked man staring at him through the only holes in his mask before moving away and running out of sight. "Rick who is it?" Kate asked as she walked out of the bathroom to see the writer clinging onto the door. "Rick?" she questioned, walking towards him to see his free hand pressed against his stomach, blood flooding out from between his fingers as he stared at her with tears running down his cheeks.

**I'm not sure about this ending but I wanted some drama and this is what my brain came up with. Also I leave for Cornwall on Friday and I don't come back until the following Saturday and won't have any internet so this will probably be my last update until I come back unless I get a really good response and have the ability to write a chapter, which I could probably manage. **


	11. Chapter 11

Running the boiling water over her hands, Kate sobbed as she watched the now red water ran down the sink while the tears continued to run down her cheeks. Her husband was in surgery because of her. It should be her fighting for her life, not him! Letting out a large sob, Kate shut her eyes for a moment, not caring about the boiling water that was running onto her hands. She needed her husband. She needed her husband right now and because of her he wasn't here. Hearing the door swing open, Kate practically screamed when someone pulled her hands out of the water before she opened her eyes to see Lanie behind her through their reflection in the mirror. Watching as her friend broke down onto her knees; Lanie quickly knelt down and brushed Kate's hair away from her face before sighing and gently pressing a kiss to her forehead while Kate continued to sob.

"It's okay, he's going to be okay" Lanie promised as she tightly wrapped her arms around her friend, not knowing what else to do. She'd arrived moments after Kevin and Javier who had been told through work, her boyfriend ultimately leaving her a panic filled message which had brought her here. "He's going to be fine Kate, he's strong and healthy" she whispered, continuing to hold the brunette to her as the door slowly opened and Alexis crept into the room, shock covering her face as she stared at her mother.

"Mommy?" Alexis asked quietly, her voice forcing Kate to look up before brushing her tears away and forcing a sad smile onto her face. "Mommy where's daddy? Grams said he was hurt" the eight year old admitted as Kate bit back the sob that was threatening before holding her arms out for the little girl. She wanted to hold her daughter close; she wanted to keep her safe. "Mommy I want daddy" Alexis protested as Kate buried her face into her sweet smelling hair, relaxing as she took in the familiarity of the little girl. "You're holding me too tight" Alexis squealed.

"Sorry baby, I'm sorry" Kate soothed, realising her grip slightly before sighing. "Where's AJ?" she asked as she stared into Alexis' blue eyes that were slowly filling with tears.

"He's with gram and your dad" Alexis muttered as Kate nodded and stood up, realising suddenly that her dress was covered in Rick's blood and the redhead was looking at her. "Mommy is that…?" she began as Lanie stood up and rested her hand on Alexis' shoulder.

"Why don't we let mommy get changed and go and find a hot chocolate for everyone? See if we can make everyone smile for a bit" Lanie suggested as Alexis nodded and smiled weakly. "Can you go and ask Javi for some money please sweetheart?" she asked before Alexis quickly walked out of the room before Lanie turned to look at her nervous friend.

"I don't have a change of clothes" Kate stated, falling silent when Lanie lifted up a bag she'd brought in when she'd entered the room. "Thank you" she whispered, the medical student shrugging as she passed the bag to her friend before sighing and hugging her for a second. "I'm going to get changed, I don't like being covered in his" she whispered as Lanie nodded and smiled weakly, watching as Kate crept into one of the cubicles and locked the door.

"Katherine Castle, if I find you burning anymore of your body parts though there will be trouble" Lanie warned, remembering what she'd walked in on earlier. Someone should look at her friend's hands but she knew that that was the least of Kate's worries. Her husband was in surgery and no one knew whether he was going to make it yet. The father of two young children was fighting for his life because of a group of bastards who wanted to make sure their crimes remained secret. Hearing the door open and close as Lanie left the room, Kate sighed as she rested her forehead against the cubicle door and sighed. She needed to get changed. She needed to get out of the clothes that were covered in her husband's blood before going to face the rest of her family, Rick's family. Finding the zipper, she quickly tugged at the zip, almost screaming when she caught her skin.

"Fuck" she hissed to herself before yanking the rest of it down before pulling the dress off, not caring about damaging it. She wasn't keeping it! She wasn't going to keep it as a reminder of what had happened! Opening the bag, Kate sighed as she found a pair of sweats and one of Rick's t-shirts, her hands pulling them on over her body before she tied her hair back away from her face. She should have been cuddled up in bed with her husband now, naked and happy. They should have been talking about all the crazy things in their lives and yet here she was, desperately praying that he'd make it. Throwing her damp dress into the bag, Kate sighed as she slowly walked out of the cubicle and left the bathroom to see her family and friends sat in the waiting room, all of them watching her with sadness covering their faces.

"Kate darling, he's going to be fine" Martha said quietly, trying to remain positive as Kate took AJ from her arms before cradling him against her chest. Watching as Kate paced up and down the room with AJ against her chest, the older redhead sighed as Jim sent her a small smile before squeezing her hand. "Kate why don't you sit down?" the older woman suggested as Kate shook her head before gently pressing a kiss into her son's hair.

"Katie you need to sit down for a minute" Jim stated, locking eyes with his daughter as she finally stopped moving. "Katie, sit" Jim ordered as Kate nodded slowly and moved to sit the seat beside her father, Kevin and Javier watching in amazement as the usually stubborn woman quickly rested against her father with her son in her arms. "He's going to be fine Kate, he's going to be fine sweetheart" Jim promised as tears ran down her cheeks.

"It should have been me daddy, it should have been me" she sobbed uncontrollably as everyone fell silent, all of them knowing that Kate was right.

XOXOOXXOXOXOXOX

"Family of Richard Castle?" the doctor asked as the entered the waiting room and stared at the group who automatically turned to look at him when he spoke. "Mr Castle was very lucky but we managed to stop the bleed and he's doing well, we've just moved him into a private room so if you want to see him it's now possible" he explained as Kate smiled weakly before thanking him and staring at the baby who was fast asleep in her arms. "However only two people can go in at a time at the moment" he added as everyone nodded before looking across at Kate.

"Do you want to take Alexis in with you darling?" Martha asked as she stared at the brunette for a moment who nodded quietly and looked across at her daughter. "Let me have the little darling and then you can go and see Rick" the older redhead smiled, shock covering her face when Kate continued to hold AJ close to her.

"Can I take him with me?" she asked, turning to look at the doctor who starred at her in confusion for a moment, along with the rest of her family. "Please" she begged before the older man nodded and smiled, knowing that this woman was clearly desperate and upset. Standing, Kate smiled nervously as Alexis cuddled into her side; the two of them following the doctor out of the room in silence. "Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Kate questioned when they finally stopped outside the room.

"Mrs Castle, your husband was very lucky. He'll need a lot of bed rest but I promise that he'll have a full recovery" he stated as Kate smiled before moving towards the door and opening it, keeping AJ balanced on her hip while she slowly entered the room with Alexis.

"Daddy" Alexis muttered as she stared at the man who was lying in the middle of the bed with wires all around him. Kate didn't want Alexis to see her father like this but she also knew Alexis wouldn't leave the hospital until she'd had the chance to see her dad. "Is he sleeping mommy?" the redhead asked as she stared up at her mother who smiled weakly and nodded.

"He's fast asleep and getting better baby, he's going to be fine sweetheart" Kate promised before sighing and sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at her husband. "You're going to be fine Rick, I promise" Kate stated as she leant across to kiss him gently on the forehead, smiling when AJ squealed at the movement. "We're all here Rick; no one's going to give up on you so you have to fight this" the brunette whispered before looking across to see Alexis trying to hide her yawn. "You should go home baby, you need some sleep".

"I don't want to leave daddy" she admitted.

"What if I stay here with daddy tonight and grams takes you and AJ home?" Kate questioned as Alexis fell silent for a moment. "I don't want you getting sick as well sweetheart" Kate admitted, smiling when Alexis nodded in agreement before Kate stood up and stared at her husband for a moment. "I'll be back in a minute" Kate promised before leading her kids out of the room towards the waiting room again.

XOOXOXOXOXXOXO

"Kevin and Javi are staying at our apartment to keep an eye on your mom and the kids, my dad's there as well" Kate admitted as she sat beside her husband and stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry Rick, I'm sorry that I've made all this happen to our family" Kate muttered as she leant down to press a kiss to Rick's forehead. "We've got two cops outside the door as well; we've got to have protection everywhere we go now! I can't even go to the toilet without having someone stand outside the room" she moaned before moving a stray piece of hair from his face. "When you wake up you're going to do your typical heroic act and tell me that you're glad you were the one who got stabbed" she groaned as she kicked her shoes off. "The doctor's going to come in and shout at me when he finds out what I'm doing but I honestly don't care anymore" Kate admitted outloud as she moved to lay on her side beside her unconscious husband. "Wake up Rick, wake up soon" she begged, leaning up to kiss his cheek before shutting her eyes and remaining still; hoping desperately that the doctor wouldn't make her move later.

**Just a short chapter but I'll be updating again in a week and a bit so I'll see you all then! Have an amazing week and I hope you review, I love hearing from you and your reviews will actually help me cope with my crap exam results and my caravan holiday with my brother and his friend and a whole lot of rain! **


	12. Chapter 12

Pain! It was the first thing that hit him when he began to stir. Why was he asleep? How long had he been asleep for? Slowly opening his eyes, the writer groaned at the dark room before slowly moving his fingers- glad to at least have control over his hands. Why was he in so much pain? Where was Kate? Was Kate okay? Moving his hand up from the bed, the writer felt a small smile cover his face when his fingers brushed through what he knew to be Kate's hair. Thank god, Kate was here and she seemed to be okay. Hearing a small moan as he continued to play with strands of her dark hair, Rick felt his concern build up when his wife looked up with tears in her eyes and a smile covering her face.

"Thank god you're awake" she sobbed before leaning across and removing the mask that was covering her face, her lips pressing against his before he had the chance to ask any questions. Why hadn't he noticed the mask? Why wouldn't he wake up? What the hell was going on? "I was so scared and I couldn't lose you Rick, I can't lose you ever" she muttered as she buried her face into his shoulder while the writer remained silent, not knowing what to say. "But you're okay; you're going to be okay. The doctor says you were really lucky" she admitted. Doctor, what doctor? What was she talking about?

"Doctor?" he asked quietly as she nodded slowly, running her fingers across his cheek as she began to look down at him while her tears began to stop. "What doctor?" he questioned, her teeth sinking into her lip as she tried to think of how to tell him. She didn't know he wouldn't remember and she didn't want to have to remember it either. "Katie" he whispered, a sob leaving her lips as she stared at him for a moment. Why did she need to tell him? Why did she need to relive the memories? Why did Rick have to know? "Tell me" he begged.

"You were stabbed Rick" she muttered as shock covered his face. Stabbed? "You were so lucky and the doctor's did an amazing job but you were stabbed and you lost a lot of blood, the bastard ran off and we couldn't get a good enough description from anyone and the cameras are useless, no one saw them clearly" she admitted, remembering everything Kevin had told her when he'd snuck in half way through the night.

"Kids?" he asked quietly.

"With your mother, Javier and Lanie" she explained as the writer nodded and groaned again, the pain increasing as she shut her eyes. "Alexis was very shaken up when I brought her in to see you earlier but she was very brave, you would have been proud of her. She was so wonderful" she admitted as the writer nodded and reached across for her hand, the cop quickly lacing her fingers with his as he smiled at her. "I should get the doctor".

"No" he begged as she watched him. "Stay here, please Kate" he whispered, not wanting to let her out of his sight. He knew that the person who stabbed him wasn't meant to hurt him but instead was meant to hurt Kate, that man was supposed to kill his wife and he wasn't going to let her out of his sight again. He was going to keep her safe, no matter what it cost. "You tired?" he asked quietly as she shook her head, obviously lying as she turned her head away to hide her yawn. "Cuddle" he whispered, a small smile covering her pale face as she moved to lie beside him, her head burying into his side as he slowly shut his eyes. "Love you".

"I love you too Rick, I love you so much" she whispered, leaning across to kiss his cheek before settling back down in her original space, the writer remaining perfectly still as he took in the sound of her breathing calming down.

XOOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Daddy" Alexis shrieked as she entered the hotel room with her grandmother to see her father awake in bed while Kate remained cuddled up to his side, her fingers running across his cheek as she smiled across at her daughter. "You're awake" she cheered as the writer nodded and watched as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed, amazed at her climbing ability while Martha smiled in the doorway with AJ in her arms.

"Hello pumpkin" Rick smiled as Kate sat up and ran her fingers through her hair before walking towards the redhead who willing passed the small boy over to his mother. "I've missed you Lex" the writer whispered into his daughter's hair as he cuddled her close while Kate held AJ to her chest and smiled weakly. "Have you been good for gram?" he asked as Alexis nodded quickly while Martha smiled and quickly took comfort in a nearby chair, her eyes still focused on her son. He was going to be fine! He was going to make it!

"You had us worried last night Richard, don't make a habit of it darling" Martha warned as the writer nodded and smiled across at his wife who was now sitting in another chair with her son close to her, the small boy practically asleep in her arms. "Did you get any sleep Kate?" the older redhead questioned as she looked across at her daughter in law who nodded and smiled weakly across at the writer who was still cuddling his daughter.

"I actually slept okay, I slept better when Rick woke up of course but it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be" she admitted as the redhead nodded and smiled, a knock at the door making them fall silent before Javier and Lanie walked in, the medical student carrying a large bunch of flowers as the writer remained silent.

"What's with the flowers?" Kate smiled as Javier groaned.

"We bought you chocolate but someone ate them on the way here so we bought the next best thing for sick people" Javier explained, groaning when Lanie smacked her elbow into her boyfriend's side. "What was that for?" he asked.

"He's not sick idiot, he was wounded" she hissed, the writer smiling as he watched the couple bicker. "Sometimes, I wonder why I date you, you can be a right ass sometimes" Lanie almost screeched as she threw the flowers onto the bed after Javier had made a comment on her chocolate eating and the quantity she ate. Watching as the cop turned to look towards the door; Kate sighed as she stood up and pressed a kiss to her husband's forehead before thrusting her son into her friend's arms.

"I'm going to go and sort your mess out" she stated as Javier thanked her quietly before watching as she slowly walked out of the room. Entering the bathroom, Kate sighed as she found Lanie staring into the mirror while brushing her fingers through her hair. "What's going on with you and Javi?" Kate asked quickly as the medical student turned to look at her in silence. "You and Javi argue all the time but this is the first time I've ever seen you storm out" Kate admitted.

"He's so annoying Kate" Lanie moaned as Kate laughed. "I mean he has this certain way of getting everything done. Washing up has to be done in a certain way and his clothes have to folded in a certain way, one of these days I think I'm just going to snap and kill him myself" she stated as Kate rolled her eyes and sighed. "He's just getting on my nerves".

"But you still love him?" Kate asked as the medical student groaned. "Lanie…"

"Of course I love him, the annoying ass" she stated as Kate laughed and watched her for a moment in silence. "Why couldn't I fall in love with someone normal?" she asked as Kate shrugged, remaining silent for a moment longer as the student continued to watch her.

"He might not be the cleverest man in the world Lanie and he might be picky about certain things but he's extremely loyal and he'd do anything for you, he's completely crazy about you Lanie and I thin" Kate explained as Lanie watched her for a moment. "You're lucky to have Javi and he's lucky to have you, it's as simple as that" she stated as the other woman laughed and nodded. "Now can we go because I need to feed my son soon" she explained, smiling when Lanie began to drag her out of the bathroom.

"How are you doing with the whole stabbing thing?" Lanie asked.

"I was trying to avoid that conversation" Kate admitted as Lanie shrugged. "I'm scared; I'm scared for my children. Whoever it was didn't stop when he saw it was Rick and not me, what if Alexis answers the door?" she asked, tears filling her eyes as she imagined cradling Alexis in her arms instead of Rick, her hands quickly covering her daughter's blood. Shaking at the thought, Kate sighed when Lanie wrapped her arms around her friend for a moment, holding her close as Kate attempted to relax.

"They'll get the bastards Kate" she promised as Kate nodded, the two of them slowly entering Rick's room to see that Kevin, Jenny and Jim had now joined them and were smiling at the writer who currently had Alexis cuddled into one side asleep and a sleeping AJ resting on his chest.

"Rick, what about your injury?" Kate practically shrieked when she saw how close her son was to where her husband had been stabbed. "What if he kicks you?" she questioned, everyone watching as the panic continued to cover Kate's face. "Rick" Kate warned.

"Kate calm down, he's fine. He's completely out of it right now anyway" Rick sighed as he continued to observe his wife's behaviour. "Come and sit down" he declared as she slowly walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed again, the writer smiling as Lanie approached her boyfriend. "Watch out Javi" Rick teased.

"I'm going to be nice to you because you've been hurt but next time I won't be" Lanie warned, silencing the writer as Kate laughed and ran her fingers through his short hair, smiling when the writer shut his eyes. "Javier Esposito you're lucky that I love you" she stated as the cop nodded slowly, unable to say anything because Lanie's lips quickly pressed against his. "Sorry for being bitchy" she whispered, still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me for being annoying" he mumbled as she nodded and kissed him again, Kate smiling as she leant down to kiss Rick's hair while the writer watched her in amazement.

"Love you Kate" Rick yawned.

"Love you too writer man" she whispered before kissing him, everyone smiling at them as Kate nuzzled into his neck, her eyes shutting slowly as she listened to her husband's breathing. He was alive. He was really alive and he was going to be okay!

**Guess who's back?!**


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm coming, I'm coming, stop knocking on the door you idiot, you'll wake my children up and then you'll regret it" she screamed at the door as she ran towards it in her pyjamas and groaned, running her fingers through her hair before she stopped and sighed. Whoever was knocking on her door was going to earn the lecture she was going to give them. Reaching across for the lock, Kate quickly unlocked the apartment before opening the door and staring at the man who was stood there. "Rick?" she asked as the writer nodded. "What are you doing here? You should be in hospital" she declared as the writer shrugged.

"They've discharged me Kate, I am now fit to be home" Rick declared as he took a step towards her. "And I didn't want to miss surprising my beautiful wife, especially when she's dressed in her pyjamas and looking so cute" he laughed as she looked down at his t-shirt that she'd stolen before rolling her eyes and staring up at him again in amazement. "Do I get a hello?" he asked, the brunette nodding as she moved closer before kissing him quickly, her fingers running through his hair while his hands rested on the small of her back. "I've missed you" he whispered against her lips as their eyes locked. "I've missed our home" he whispered.

"How did you get home Rick?" she asked quietly as he smiled at her. "You didn't have any money, I had your wallet" she stated as the writer laughed, watching as shock covered her face. "You walked home?" she shrieked as Rick shrugged. "Why the hell didn't you call me? I would have come and got you" she declared as the writer shook his head again.

"Defeats the whole surprise idea Kate, I thought you needed a good surprise" he declared as she laughed and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's good to be home" he whispered as she nodded and held him close for a moment. He was home! Her husband was finally home! "Let's get in the house" he mumbled, watching as Kate took a step away from him before leading him into the apartment before turning around to see Alexis standing in front of them. "Hey pumpkin" Rick smiled, laughing when Alexis tightly wrapped her arms around him. "Did you miss me?" he asked.

"Yeah" she whispered. "Mommy did too, she's always crying daddy when she goes to bed daddy" she admitted as Kate bit into her lip. Turning to look at his wife, Rick sighed as he leant across to press a kiss to her forehead. "Don't leave us again daddy" Alexis whispered as she clung onto her father, the writer laughing as he looked down at his daughter before running his fingers through her hair and smiling.

"Alexis Castle, I promise that I'll never leave you again or your mom or your brother" he declared, Kate smiling weakly as she watched the interaction between father and daughter. "How about we all go and cuddle in mom and dad's bed and watch a movie?" he suggested as the redhead nodded before disappearing towards her parent's room. Following their daughter into their bedroom, Kate sighed as Rick gently pressed a kiss into her hair before she took a step away from him. "I think there's someone else who wants their daddy" Kate stated, disappearing into the nursery for a second before reappearing with AJ in her arms. "We were lucky he was awake" she declared as the writer held his arms out for his son, wanting to hold him properly for the first time.

"Hey baby boy" Rick smiled as he took his son into his arms before lifting him into her arms and pressing a kiss to his head. "He's got heavier" he commented as Kate nodded and wrapped her arms around her body while Alexis rested in the middle of the bed. "And he's a lot bigger, what have you been feeding him Kate?" he laughed, sitting down on the edge of the bed as Kate sighed and moved to sit beside her daughter, her fingers playing with Alexis' hair as the writer moved back to take the space on the other side of Alexis. "I've missed you all, I've missed this" Rick stated after a moment's silence.

"Well let's make sure this never happens again, I kind of like having my husband around twenty four hours a day" Kate stated, looking across at her family before lying down next to her daughter who was still staring across at her father, still not sure about whether it was real. Was her dad really home now? Were they really all back together? "I still can't believe you walked home Rick, you were just discharged from hospital and you walked home" she said quietly as the writer laughed and shrugged, knowing that she wasn't going to let that go. She was angry at him for taking a risk but she couldn't shout because she was happy to have him home. He could read her and he knew that she hated it!

"I just wanted to surprise my wife; you really need to understand surprises Kate! The whole point is that you don't know what's going to happen" he explained as Kate laughed and rolled her eyes, unable to stop herself from smiling at her husband's comment. Maybe she did need to calm down and just be happy that he was finally allowed to come home to her and their babies?

"Mommy why don't you like surprises? Surprises are good, aren't they?" Alexis asked as Kate sighed.

"I just don't like not knowing, I like to know everything, you know that" Kate smiled as the redhead nodded and cuddled into her side. "But having your daddy turn up today was the best surprise I could have ever asked for. That was a surprise that I'd like more of" she whispered as she tightly wrapped her arms around her daughter as Rick watched her, happy to be home!

XOOXOXOXOXXOXO

"Well this is a lovely surprise" Martha commented as she stood in the doorway and watched as Rick opened his eyes and smiled across at his mother. "When did you get home?" the actress questioned as Rick looked across to see Alexis and Kate fast asleep beside him while AJ slept on his chest, the writer amazed that his son was still asleep.

"I got discharged at about seven this morning, I walked home and surprised the wife" Rick explained as his mother nodded and smiled. "Has she really been crying every night?" the writer questioned as he looked across at his sleeping wife, smiling at how peaceful she looked.

"She's been struggling, it's been difficult" Martha admitted. "She's been trying to juggle visiting you, looking after the kids and coping with everything that's been going on. She's really young as well Rick, I think we forget that sometimes because she's so mature but she's twenty one years old and her mom's dead and people are trying to kill her. She's saved you and Alexis; she gave birth to your son handcuffed to a radiator and she's watched you get stabbed. At some point she's going to break" she admitted, staring at the sleeping brunette for a moment before sighing. "I'm going to make some tea, want some?" she questioned.

"No thanks mother, I'm still tired" he smiled, watching as she nodded before walking out of the bedroom as Rick sighed and turned onto his side, watching his wife in amazement. His mother was right. Kate had gone through so much and she was so young! Twenty one years old and she was fighting practically the world to keep their family safe. Hearing Kate groan, the writer smiled as she turned her head to look at her husband, a small smile covering her face as she looked at him.

"Hello" Kate whispered as the writer leant across to kiss her, the brunette's fingers running through his hair for a moment before smiling.

"You're so extraordinary" he whispered as confusion covered her face. What was he talking about? "Can we go talk somewhere without the kids?" he asked as the brunette nodded and sat up, the writer smiling as she reached across to lift AJ off him before the writer slipped out of the bed and watched his wife disappear into their son's room for a second. "Let's talk in my office" he smiled as she nodded and relaxed as he cuddled her into his side, the two of them walking silently towards his office. Sitting down in his chair, Rick sighed as he looked at his wife who had now sat herself on the edge of his desk in front of him.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked as he reached across and took hold of her hand, lacing his fingers with hers as she smiled and laughed gently.

"You're so wonderful Kate" he declared as she rolled her eyes. "Come here" he whispered, pulling her hand slightly so she moved and sat on his lap gently, worry covering her face as she attempted to not hit his wound. "It was something mother said when I woke up Kate and it made me think" he explained as she nodded and stared at him, her fingers running across his cheek as he smiled at her. "Kate you're so young".

"Rick" she moaned.

"Kate you're so strong, so extraordinary" he whispered as she smiled weakly. "Kate you've grown up so much recently and sometimes that makes me worried" he declared as confusion covered her face. "Kate normal people your age are finishing college, having fun, enjoying their youth and yet here you are".

"Are you saying that you wish I hadn't married you?" she asked quietly, his head shaking as she bit into her lip for a second. "Rick, I chose you, I chose our life. I don't want to be out partying every night or meeting random men. I found you, I fell madly in love with you and I don't regret one moment of our life together" she stated as the writer smiled at her. "Yes it's a bit of a nightmare with those bastards around but I love you and I love our children. Age is just a number" she stated, kissing him quickly as the writer nodded slowly and tightly wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face into his neck.

"Yes, age is just a number" he declared as she smiled. "I'm sorry, I was just worried about everything Kate, and I'm just worried about you Kate. I guess not being here made me realise that you have so much to deal with Katie" he whispered, pressing a kiss into her cherry scented hair as she sighed and shut her eyes for a moment. "Why don't we do something today? As a family?" he suggested as she murmured something that he couldn't hear. "Or we could go out for dinner tonight with everyone?" he declared, her head nodding as she relaxed and slowly moved so she could look up at him. Hearing the phone ring, Kate sighed as she reached across to grab the phone off her husband's desk, the writer smiling at her as she relaxed back against his side.

"Hello" Kate said quietly down the phone, the writer watching as the smile that had covered Kate's face minutes ago disappear quickly.

"Katie" he whispered, shocked when she quickly moved off his lap and leant across, gagging into the bin as Rick moved to kneel behind her as the phone dropped to the ground. "Kate" he whispered, pulling her hair away from her face as she shut her eyes. "What happened?"

"Raglan's dead".


	14. Chapter 14

"You can't be thinking about going to work Kate" Rick declared as he watched his wife pull on her jacket before turning to look at him, noticing the shock that was covering her face for a moment. "I won't let you go, not when there's a man out there who is killing anyone to do with your mom's murder and will soon come after you! I'm not going to watch you go into danger when we have two young children Kate" he shouted, shocking her with how angry he sounded. He was trying to protect her and she didn't know what to say to him! She wanted to make it better, she wanted to stop the tears that were starting to appear in both their eyes and make everything go away! She wanted to make her life better. "Please don't go to work, let's just pack the kid's some clothes and get out of New York for a while. Let's just go away" he begged as he wrapped his arms around her, watching as she shook her head! She wasn't going to just give up on this! She wasn't going to give up on finding her mom's killer, she couldn't! "Kate I don't think you realise how serious this threat is" he declared.

"They're getting closer Rick and soon they'll make a mistake" she whispered as he shook his head and glared at her, knowing that there was no point trying to persuade her! His wife had her plan and god help anyone who tried to get in her way of her achieving her goals! "We can catch him Rick and everything will be fine".

"Kate he fucking stabbed me, he just killed Raglan, Smith is dead! How much longer do you think you can dodge the bullet Kate? How long until they try and hurt you through hurting our baby's?" he questioned as silent tears ran down both their cheeks. "Kate, I'm not going to risk Alexis or AJ because you can't realise how stupid it is trying to fight the whole world practically on your own! You need to leave it to someone else, you can't get involved in this" he declared as she slowly shook her head, realising what he was starting to hint at.

"Rick" she whispered.

"Kate, you either chose this case which will get you killed or you chose us, your family, the people who want to have a life with you but we won't wait forever Kate" he stated before walking out of the room to join his children, wherever they were; his eyes shutting when he heard Kate break down inside his office. He knew he was hurting her but he had Alexis and AJ to think of! He had his baby's to look after.

XOOXOXXOXOXOOX

Creeping out of the office after an hour of silence, Kate slowly walked into her bedroom to see a suitcase resting on the bed while the writer threw his clothes and a mixture of AJ's and Alexis' into the case while the two children rested on the bed, AJ fast asleep while Alexis remained silent with tears running down her cheeks. She'd done this to her children! She'd made them think that they weren't staying here anymore!

"I never planned for this" Kate whispered, breaking the silence as the writer turned to look at her. "It wasn't my plan when I fell in love with you and we had AJ, I dreamt of the perfect family life, I didn't dream of this" the brunette admitted as Rick stood in complete silence, not knowing what to say to her. "I wanted us to have the life my parents did when I was younger, I wanted family dinners and days out and I haven't been doing that" Kate declared, walking towards him with tears in her eyes. "I haven't been doing that because I've been trying to make the world safer for our children and I'm sorry that that's made me blind to how you've been feeling but Rick…" she began, falling silent when he shook his head.

"Kate we're going to the Hamptons, you either come with us or you stay here and continue going down the rabbit hole. You can't have both anymore, not when it's putting our children at risk" he declared as he closed the suitcase and turned to look back up at her, noticing the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "You don't even know how to tell us no" he stated as he lifted AJ into his arms, the brunette sobbing as she looked across at a tearful Alexis.

"Mommy please" the redhead begged as Kate reached across for her son, not surprised when Rick held Alexander closer to him and shook his head. Opening her mouth to speak, Kate groaned as her phone started to ring within her pocket, Rick's eyes rolling as she glanced up at him before she grabbed the screaming object and hit the answer button.

"Hello" she said quietly, hating whoever had interrupted. Watching as she hung up, Rick sighed as the brunette stared up at him while her teeth sunk into her bottom lip for a moment. "Montgomery needs me to do something at work and then I have to go and meet him somewhere" she whispered as the writer shook his head, hating that she was just doing what her boss told her and was ignoring everything he was saying for the sake of their family. Approaching him slowly, Kate felt the tears run down her cheeks again before leaning up and pressing her lips against his, not surprised when he didn't respond. "Rick" she whispered.

"You're choosing work, aren't you Kate?" he commented as she shook her head and locked eyes with him.

"Stay until I get back, stay and then we'll talk, we'll figure something out I promise just wait for me to come home" she begged as she looked down at her son before pressing a kiss to his forehead, her body moving so she could press a kiss to Alexis' forehead for a brief second. "Make your daddy wait for me beautiful, I'll be home in an hour at the most" she whispered as Alexis stared at her in silence. "You know that I love you more than anything in the world, you're my little girl! No matter what you think my feelings for you will never change" she explained as Alexis bit into her lip, her arms wrapping around Kate's neck as the brunette shut her eyes for a second and enjoyed holding her! They'd been so happy only a few hours ago with Rick surprising them! Why did her life, her job have to ruin everything? "Please make him stay Alexis, please baby make him stay" Kate begged, glancing up at her husband for a second before sighing.

"Don't you need to go to work Kate?" Rick asked, his voice clearly showing his disappointment and anger at the whole situation. She didn't blame him, he'd been stabbed and their family was clearly in danger and she was making them stay in New York, stay where all the danger was when he desperately wanted to take her and their children away from the city and somewhere safer where they could be the family they both dreamt of. "One hour, we'll wait one hour and if you're not back Kate, we're going to go" he declared as she nodded and kissed his cheek quickly, staring down at her watch before sighing and looking up at him. "One hour Kate".

"I promise, I'll be back before then" she declared, the writer nodding as she leant up and kissed his forehead briefly before moving away. "One hour and then I'll be back, watch this space" she stated before walking out of the room and apartment, trying desperately to get to work quicker so she could leave earlier and save her marriage.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I'll be there in ten minutes sir" Kate said down the phone as she looked across to see the time, her eyes shutting for a moment before she groaned and stood up, pulling her jacket on over her blouse as she realised that she had fifteen minutes until she needed to be home and she probably wouldn't make it! She was going to break the promise she'd made to both her husband and daughter because she was working! She need to improve this, she needed to be Kate the mother more than Kate the cop. Walking out of the precinct in silence, Kate sighed as she climbed into her car and turned it on, driving down the street as she thought about everything. Pulling up at the hanger, Kate looked at it for a moment before noticing Montgomery's car and stepping out of the vehicle, her hand moving to rest on her gun as she thought about why the hell was she here! She needed to get home; she needed to fix her personal life! Work needed to come second!

"Sir?" Kate asked as she entered the building and looked around for a moment, her hand still lingering on the gun as she waited for a moment, desperately trying to remain calm as her thoughts went to her babies who were probably waiting for her and realising that she wasn't coming to get them. She wasn't coming home like she'd promised. "Roy? Roy I need to get home" Kate called out, grabbing her gun when she heard footsteps and turned to see the Captain standing in front of her. "Why have you brought me here?" she asked.

"Because we needed to talk Kate and we couldn't do it at the precinct" Roy stated as he slowly walked towards her, the brunette remaining perfectly still as she stared at the man she trusted more than anything. "You're so much like your mother Kate" he whispered, shocking her as she bit into her bottom lip for a second. "I met her once properly at an event and I was amazed by her passion for justice, I would have known you anywhere because you share her passion" he declared as Kate watched him in amazement. "You look like her as well" he whispered.

"Where's this going Roy?" she asked quietly as he stared at her for a moment.

"I asked you here because I needed your forgiveness" he declared as her confusion grew. "I've made some mistakes Kate and the person I need to forgive me the most is you because you've trusted me and I've let you down" he whispered as she shook her head. What was he talking about? What had he done that had made him let her down? She couldn't think of anything! "When I first started as a cop I made mistakes".

"Roy I don't understand" she whispered, her cell beeping in her pocket as she groaned! She hated having this new thing that beeped at her all the time. Digging it out of her pocket, Kate groaned as she stared at it for a moment to see a message for Ryan flashing on the screen. _Montgomery, Raglan and another cop Armen are in on it! _Looking up at the Captain, Kate felt the shock cover her face as she slowly began to shake her head. "Please tell me it's not true" she gasped as she dropped her phone and stared at him as he remained silent. "I trusted you Roy, you've held my son and my daughter's spent time with your children" she shrieked as she continued to shake her head. "What am I doing here? Have you brought me here so they can kill me? Are you in on everything?" she shouted, wishing that she'd actually gone home instead of attempting to work more hours! Hearing voices and car doors shut, Kate felt her fear build up as she thought about how this might be the end. How she might have never got the chance to make things better with her husband and children. "You're helping them and you've brought me here so that they can kill me" she sobbed as he shook his head and walked towards her, not shocked when she quickly took a step away from him. "Don't come near me".

"Kate" he whispered.

"The last conversation I had with my husband was an argument, I was supposed to go home to him five minutes ago and now he's going to leave me" she sobbed as she thought about how she was never going to see her husband again or watch her kids grow. "I just wanted to go home to them and make things better" she broke down, trying to think about what they'd tell Rick about what had happened.

"Kate" Roy said again. "I'm not trying to kill you, I'm trying to save you" he stated as shock covered her face, the sound of footsteps getting louder. "You need to go now" he declared, looking across at the doorway that the footsteps were approaching, shock covering her face as she realised what was happening. "Kate please, you need to go home" he begged as she shook her head for a moment. He was going to sacrifice himself! He was waiting for the killers!

"No Roy, there has to be something else that you can do" she stated, her head shaking as the writer looked across the room and nodded, confusion covering her face as she slowly turned to look across the room, shock covering her face when Rick walked towards her in silence. "Rick" she whispered.

"Castle take her home now" Roy ordered as the writer nodded, shock covering Kate's face when he walked towards her and stared at her for a moment, the footsteps getting louder as the writer quickly grabbed her and began to carry her out of the hanger forcibly, the brunette screaming as he practically dragged her out of the building, tears running down her cheeks as she realised what was going on.

"Rick" Kate sobbed as the writer held her against their car, her head burying into his chest as tears continued to run down her cheeks uncontrollably. Hearing the shots go off, Rick shut his eyes as he held her close to him for a moment, her whole body shaking as she kept her face buried in his chest for a moment. "Rick" she sobbed.

"I know Kate" he whispered, keeping her close as she stared up at him in tears, his lips pressing a kiss to her forehead as the shots continued to ring out. "We're going to be okay, I'm going to keep you safe" he mumbled as she shook her head, terrified at the fact that they were next door to the people who had killed her mother and were probably killing her captain. "We need to move, just in case" he whispered as she remained perfectly still, not knowing what to do. Her captain was involved, her captain, a man she'd trusted with her son had been involved in the murder of her mother and she was listening to him sacrifice himself for her. "Kate sweetheart, we need to go somewhere, we need to hide" he whispered, slipping an arm around her before slowly moving her away so they were on the opposite side of the car, further away from the door so if anyone looked in they wouldn't be seen. Hearing silence suddenly, Kate turned her body to look towards the hanger before looking at the writer who stared at her for a moment. "Please don't" he begged.

"I need to see whether…" she began, Rick nodding slowly before watching as she ran towards the hanger and disappeared inside, her loud scream forcing him to move into hanger to see men lying on the floor dead while Kate sobbed beside the dead body of her captain, her hands covered in his blood as she continued to cry.

"Kate, there was nothing you could have done" he whispered as he knelt down beside her and rested his hand on her shoulder, her whole body shaking as she continued to sob at the dead body of her captain rested beside them. "We need to call someone" he declared, her head shaking as she moved to cuddled into his side, his arms protecting her as she buried her face into his side. "We need to call Ryan or Esposito, someone needs to come and get his body Kate and inform his wife and I need to get you home".

"Oh god, his wife, his kids Rick. What do I tell them?" she sobbed as the writer held her close before reaching across for her phone that was resting on the floor close to them and texting Ryan, finishing the message before he stood up and helped Kate off the ground while she continued to shake in his arms. "Rick" she sobbed.

"Once Ryan and Esposito get here, we'll give them your statement and then we'll go home and you can get cleaned up and go to bed and cuddle with the kids" he whispered, his tone no longer angry as the brunette stared at him for a moment. Was he not leaving her like he planned on doing? "We'll talk about the other things in the morning" he whispered as she nodded slowly, tears running down her cheeks as Rick kept her close to him, allowing her to sob into his shirt as she mourned the friend she'd lost.

**Please review, I'm kind of concerned about whether people are still interested or not so please review and tell me! I've been a terrible updater recently but depending on the amount of reviews I receive I'll update quicker. Also this chapter is a bit all over the place I feel but this is how my brain wants it and I'll probably go back later and change a few things but hopefully you like it! **


	15. Chapter 15

He was terrified about how she was doing. She hadn't really said a word since the cops had joined them at the precinct and Ryan and Esposito had run in to see whether what they'd heard was true, shock and sadness covering their faces as they watched their friend and colleague bury her face into the chest of her dead Captain and sob her forgiveness to his lifeless body. Now he'd given his statement and had begged Ryan and Esposito to give Kate until tomorrow so she could feel a bit better and he was desperately trying to move the brunette away from Montgomery's body. Kneeling down beside her, Rick slowly rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, her head shaking as she cuddled into his side and moved to stand when he did, his arms moving tightly around her when she continued to sob. This was her captain, her friend and not only had he betrayed her, he had given up his life so she could have hers!

"Katie, let's go home now" Rick whispered as she remained silent, her face buried into his shirt as he looked across to see Ryan and Esposito watching them concerned. "We'll go home, you can have a bath and we'll make sure everything's fine" he promised, pressing a kiss into her hair as she shook her head. How could anything be fine? Montgomery's had lost his life, his wife had lost her husband and his children had lost their father because people wanted to kill her. "Let's go home and cuddle with the kids" he suggested, knowing that seeing AJ and Alexis would make Kate feel slightly better, it always did! "They won't be asleep yet, we can watch a movie or we can just play a game or do story time together Kate but to do that we need to go home and you need to get cleaned up" he declared, slowly leading her towards the door, leaving the cops and murder behind as he led her towards where he'd parked his car on the way here. Opening the passenger door, Rick watched as Kate slid into the vehicle and shut her eyes as she relaxed back, the writer closing the door in silence before turning to see Esposito walking towards them.

"We'll need her clothes" Javier said quietly as Rick nodded. "Put them in a bag and we'll come and get them tomorrow morning" he stated as the writer nodded again, not knowing what to say. This wasn't an everyday conversation! People's captains didn't get murdered every day because they wanted to sacrifice themselves for a twenty one year old woman whose mother had been murdered. "She should take the day off tomorrow Rick, maybe you should get out of town for a while or something" he suggested.

"I'll try but she'll want to stay here, at least till the funeral" Rick declared as Javier groaned, knowing that Kate was stubborn and was probably feeling pretty guilty right now! "I better take her home Javier" Rick mumbled after a few moments of silence, the cop nodding as he watched the writer move towards the other side of the car and climb inside before reaching across for his wife's blood covered hand. "Let's go home Kate" he whispered, starting the car in silence before he looked across for a brief moment to see tears running down her cheeks again. Driving down the street in silence, Rick sighed as he slowly pulled into the apartment garage before parking the car and turning to look at his wife. "Want my jacket?" he asked, staring down at her blood covered clothes before she nodded and opened her eyes finally. Removing his jacket, Rick sighed as he passed it to the younger woman who quickly wrapped it around herself before stepping out of the car. How was he going to explain this to his mother? To Alexis, who was probably still awake? Taking hold her hand, Rick slowly led her towards the elevator as she cuddled into his side and remained silent, knowing that he could feel her shake in his arms. "Let's get you in the bath, I'll make you some hot chocolate and then we can cuddle with the kids".

"Can I not see the kids tonight? I don't want Alexis seeing me like this" she admitted as Rick nodded slowly and pressed a kiss into her hair before they stepped out of the elevator together and towards the apartment. Unlocking the door, Rick sighed as Kate moved closer to him, not wanting to move out of his arms as he quickly breathed out before looking across to see his mother and Alexis cuddled onto the couch while AJ clearly slept somewhere. "I'm going to have a bath" she said quietly, the writer nodding as she quickly ran across the apartment, Martha and Alexis turning to look at her as she disappeared into the main bedroom.

"Richard?" Martha asked quietly.

"Daddy what's wrong with mommy?" Alexis asked as she stood up and walked towards her father who lifted her into his arms and hugged her for a moment, not wanting to let her go as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Daddy is everything okay?" the redhead asked as Rick nodded, knowing that his little girl didn't need to know about what had happened yet or ever in as much detail as Rick and Kate had been subjected too.

"Everything's fine sweetheart, just something upset mommy tonight and she just wants to go to bed and try and forget about it" he lied as Alexis nodded, the writer slowly put her down before starting to make hot chocolate. "Want some hot chocolate?" he asked as the redhead nodded and watched him for a moment as he continued to make the drinks for his wife and daughter. Finishing the drinks, Rick sighed as he passed one to his daughter before leaning down and kissing her forehead, a giggle leaving her lips as she looked at him. "Bed by eight, you can read till nine and then I'll come and turn your light off" he told her as she nodded and watched as he slowly approached his bedroom, Martha stopping him before he could enter.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly, not wanting to disturb her granddaughter.

"Montgomery's dead, he was in on it mother, in on the case" he explained as shock covered the older woman's face. "He died saving Kate" he whispered as the redhead shut her eyes, obviously trying to hide her emotions. "Keep Alexis busy please, make sure she's in bed. I need to get Kate in the bath" he declared.

"Is she okay?" Martha asked as he shook his head and slid into the master bedroom to see Kate standing in the nursery doorway, staring in on their sleeping son probably.

"Let's get you cleaned up and then we can cuddle with him in bed Katie" Rick smiled as she nodded slowly and turned to look at her. Passing her the hot chocolate, Rick smiled as he tightly wrapped his arms around her as she took a small sip of the liquid, her hands still shaking. "You're okay Kate, we'll be okay" he whispered, attempting to calm her down as she let out a large sob. "Kate sweetheart it's going to be okay I promise" he mumbled, leading her towards the bathroom as she continued to shake her head.

"Rick my Captain was just shot by the people who are trying to kill me, they've stabbed you, kidnapped you and Alexis and I had our son while handcuffed to a radiator" she shouted as she moved away from him and stared at him. "For god's sake you were leaving me this morning, you were packing cases and taking the kids and going" she screamed, not knowing why she was doing it. "Rick how is anything going to be okay?" she asked, tears running down her cheeks as the writer felt tears run down his own cheeks now. "Our marriage is falling apart" she sobbed, sliding door the wall as she clung onto the hot chocolate.

"Kate" he whispered.

"Maybe I was too young for this whole thing Rick; I can't seem to keep our marriage together! I think about myself before I think about you and our children" she whispered, Rick's head shaking as he knelt down in front of her and ran his hands across her cheek. "I'm selfish".

"You're self-less" he declared as he leant in and kissed her gently. "And our marriage isn't falling apart Kate, I still love you like I did when we first entered a relationship and I don't think any couple has had to endure as much as we have" he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she shut her eyes and listened to him. "And we keep fighting Kate, we keep fighting everything" he stated as she rested her forehead against his. "I'm not going to lose you" he declared.

"You were leaving this morning" she mumbled.

"I was leaving because I was angry and scared and frustrated. I was being selfish then but I'm not going anywhere without you" he stated as she put the mug down before she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. "After the funeral, let's take the kids and get out of town" he whispered as she shook her head and stared at him in shock.

"I need to stay, I need to find Roy's killer, my mom's killer. Rick he's just killed a man I trusted and whose children have lost an amazing father" she stated as the writer groaned and moved away from her.

"And what about when our children lose their amazing mother?" he asked as she watched him for a moment. "AJ won't be old enough to remember a moment of you Kate, our son, the son we both wanted so much and fought for, the son you had in a warehouse with your hand handcuffed to a radiator, won't remember you if you die now" he declared as she looked towards the nursery. "He's not even a year old yet Kate, no baby should lose their mom like that".

"I don't want to die" she sobbed, the writer finally seeing how young and scared she was as she wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her face against her thighs while the writer stared at her for a moment before moving to sit beside her and wrap an arm around her while she relaxed back. "I don't want to die Rick, I don't want them to kill me" she whispered as she moved her face into his side and began to cling onto his shirt.

"Let's get you in the bath" he said quietly, standing up slowly before helping her off the ground and leading her towards their en-suite. She seemed so small like this, so terrified and young. It was a reminder of how young she actually was. "Let's get these off you Kate" he declared as she laughed, watching as he slowly began to undo her shirt before moving it off her skin, staring at the blood soaked material before resting it against the towel rail before she undid her pants and removed them. Starting the bath, Rick quickly looked across at his nervous wife to see her staring at her blood covered hands. "Katie" he whispered.

"I don't know what to tell his kids Rick, what do I tell his wife and children Rick?" she asked quietly, looking across to see the writer staring at her. "His children won't ever have a father; they need to have a father. I can't imagine Alexis or AJ without you, they need you" she declared as he walked towards her and led her towards the bath as she remained perfectly silent.

"Underwear off" he declared as she rolled her eyes and felt his fingers undo her bra before throwing it across the room while she moved out of her panties. "I'm not going anywhere Katie, the kids are always going to have me and their always going to have you so stop worrying" he declared, leaning across to kiss her gently before stepping away when she climbed into the bath and closed her eyes. "I was thinking about the Hamptons or the cabin or maybe somewhere new" he commented as he knelt beside the bath and ran his fingers through her hair as she shut her eyes and relaxed back, her hands slowly moving into the water. "We could say it's a holiday Kate, we need to get out of town! You need to get out of town" he declared as she turned her head to look at him for the first time without tears in her eyes.

"Alexis has school and what about your work? You've got signings and events coming up" she listed as he shrugged and stared at her. "We can't just leave New York, there's Roy's funeral and we have to solve this case" she mumbled, listing everything as he stared at her for a moment before leaning in to kiss her. "I shouldn't have left him".

"They would have killed you Kate" he whispered as he brushed the hair away from her face. "There are other cops out there who can solve this case Kate but you can't keep risking your life to this" he declared as she watched him for a moment before finding his hand and entwining her fingers with his, staring at their wedding rings in silence. "The day I married you I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and by that I meant, growing old with our grandchildren playing around us" he stated as she smiled weakly. "I can imagine us having another child, if not two" he whispered.

"Two more kids?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know how many you want" he stated as she nodded and stared down at her stomach. She wanted more babies! She wanted to feel that amazing feeling of holding her baby for the first time and experience watching them grow up in front of her. She wanted to be a mom again! "Let's get out of New York, please" he begged.

"After the funeral, we'll just go away" she stated as the writer nodded and kissed her again before standing. "Rick I know I said I didn't want Alexis to see me like this but I want a cuddle" she admitted as the writer nodded and watched as she stared at the red tinged water around her. "I need to get out now" she commented as he grabbed the towel and watched as she climbed out of the water and laughed gently as he wrapped the towel tightly around her before pressing a kiss into her cherry scented hair. "Go and get Alexis for me please" she asked, kissing him quickly as he walked out of the en-suite. Drying her body, Kate sighed as she grabbed her robe off the back of the door before tightly wrapping it around her and stepping out to see her pyjamas folded on the edge of the bed, her smile growing as she realised how lucky she was to have Rick as her rock. Dressing quickly, Kate sighed as she slowly walked towards her sons room and slipped into the dimly lit room to see AJ awake and kicking his legs as she smiled down at him in amazement. Lifting him into her arms, Kate smiled as she pressed a kiss to his dark curls before staring at him for a moment. "My beautiful baby" she whispered as she stepped back into her bedroom to see Rick and Alexis standing in the doorway. "Come here sweetheart" Kate smiled, the redhead walking towards her before tightly wrapping her arms around Kate's hips while the brunette continued to hold AJ. "I'm sorry I haven't been here Lex".

"It's okay mommy" the little girl muttered as Kate shook her head.

"It's not okay sweetheart, I'm your mommy and I should be here and I'm going to try harder. I'll pick you up from school a couple of days a week and I'll make you dinner and help you with your homework sweetheart and we'll go somewhere every weekend" she promised as the redhead looked up at her for a moment, clearly trying to decide whether her mother was telling the truth. "I promise no more work obsessing sweetheart. Time to start obsessing on being a good mommy to my fantastic children" Kate promised as she rested her son on the bed before leaning down to press a kiss into Alexis' hair.

"I'm sorry you had a bad day mommy" Alexis whispered, obviously unaware of how much they'd lost today.

"Thank you baby girl" Kate muttered before looking across at her husband. "Lexi can I read you a bedtime story tonight?" the brunette asked as the redhead nodded enthusiastically, obvious excited at the prospect of having Kate read to her. "Why don't you get into bed and find a book and I'll be up in two seconds?" Kate suggested as Alexis nodded and hugged her father before running out of the room. "I'll be back in a second" Kate promised, kissing her husband as he nodded and stared at her for a moment. "I meant it, it's time for me to be a mommy again".

"You've never stopped being a mommy Kate, you just started to be overtaken by the idea of being a cop again" he explained as she nodded again and kissed him before looking across at her son who was still kicking his legs and making random noises. "Go and read to Alexis and then we'll play with AJ" he promised as she slowly nodded again before leaning down to kiss AJ's forehead before moving out of the bedroom.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Entering their bedroom after spending two hours with Alexis, Kate smiled as she looked into the room to see her husband asleep while AJ kicked his legs next to him, still wide awake as she laughed and lifted him into her arms and entered his nursery. She knew she put him to bed but she didn't want to let him out of her arms yet. Sitting down in the rocking chair by the window, Kate smiled as she wrapped a blanket around her legs before resting AJ against her thighs and staring at him in amazement. She'd made this tiny human being. She'd carried him inside her for months and she'd practically abandoned him.

"I'm going to be mommy again sweetheart I promise" Kate said before kissing his head quickly before relaxing back while she played with his feet for a moment, slowly removing his socks before staring down his tiny feet. "My beautiful perfect baby" she smiled, pressing a kiss to his hands while he continued to kick his legs. "I love you" Kate mumbled as she watched him yawn. "Go to sleep little one, I'll keep you safe" Kate whispered as she stared at her son with tears in her eyes. She wasn't going to let her baby grow up without a mom or dad!


	16. Chapter 16

"Here let me help you," Kate whispered as she slowly moved towards her husband and swiped his hands away from his tie, her fingers slowly moving to tie it perfectly as he stared at her. She was dressed perfectly in dress uniform, her hair pulled back into a bun as she smiled at him weakly before leaning up to kiss him gently. She didn't have any shoes on yet so she wasn't his height and she liked that, she liked being smaller than him occasionally, it made her the perfect height for him to cuddle her. She wanted to be cuddled; she wanted to be cuddled by him and for him to make all the pain go away. "Is your mom really okay looking after the kids today?" she asked as he nodded and brushed his lips against her forehead before she stared up at him. "Rick, I don't want to go, I don't want to see his wife standing there staring at him," she whispered as he remained close to him, not wanting to move out of his arms.

"His wife will want to see you Kate, she'll want to talk to you, she'll need to talk to you Katie," he declared, confusion covering her face as she watched him for a moment. "She'll need to know what happened and she'll probably want a hug but I know you'll cope and be fine with her because you're so strong," he stated as she nodded and kissed him quickly, her arms wrapping around his neck as she sighed and held him close to her for a moment as tears slowly began to run down her cheeks.

"I don't want to go, I don't want this to be made real Rick," she whispered in silence as he brushed his fingers across her cheek in silence, wiping away the stray tears from her cheek with his thumb before pressing a kiss to her forehead and reaching across for the hat that was resting on the bed. "I don't want to say goodbye to another person," she admitted as the writer sighed and kissed her gently before resting the hat on her head and staring at the number that covered the top of her dark cap.

"Be Detective Beckett today, be strong and the woman everyone needs today and then we'll come home, put our bags in the car and go and you can be Katie the mommy, my wife and you can cry and cuddle and do whatever you need too but you need to be Detective Beckett for the next couple of hours," he whispered as she watched him before nodding slowly, not knowing what to say to him as she leant up and kissed him again. "Go and get some shoes on Katie," he said as she nodded and took a step away from him and approach her shoes that were waiting by their bedroom door.

"I want to stay with my babies," Kate whispered as she slid on her shoes. "I want to stay with my babies, with Alexis and AJ, I want to stay," she mumbled, her voice lacking in confidence as she stared at him for a moment, obviously trying to control her emotions as he walked towards her and lifted her into his arms for a moment. "We should go," she whispered, his head nodding as he leant in and kissed her. "Rick, I want to stay with my babies".

"Kate, it's just a couple of hours and you need to be there, you need to be there for Roy," he said quietly before putting her down and finding her hand. "Just do this last thing for Roy and then we'll go, we'll get out of New York," he promised as she nodded and kissed him again before they slowly walked out of the apartment, knowing that their children were fast asleep and safe.

XOXOXOXXOXOXO

Approaching where she was supposed to stand, Kate sighed as she shut her eyes for a second before looking out to see everyone staring at her, the crowd of black taking over the green and white that filled the grave yard. Staring down at the coffin, Kate felt the tear run down her cheek as she bit into her lip for a second, her head turning to look across at her husband who smiled weakly at her.

"Roy Montgomery…" she began before falling silent again, not knowing whether she could make it. "Roy Montgomery taught me…" she whispered before shaking her head and looking across at her husband who slowly walked towards her and took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently before he looked down at the tear stained piece of paper.

"Roy Montgomery taught me what it meant to be a cop. He taught me that we are bound by our choices, but we are more than our mistakes. Captain Montgomery once said to me that, for us there is no victory. There are only battles. And in the end, the best you could hope for is to find a place to make your stand. And if you're very lucky, you find someone willing to stand with you," Rick read as Kate cuddled into his side, not caring that Rick was the one saying the speech she'd spent hours working on since Roy's wife had called her and asked her to do a speech because she meant a lot to Roy. "Roy Montgomery was an amazing Captain, a loving husband and a proud father and he will be missed by all those who met him either for a moment or for all of their lives," the writer recited as Kate shut her eyes and listened to his voice as he finished her speech and looked down at her for a moment. "Come on sweetheart" he whispered, leading her away from the stand as she slowly held him close to her. Holding Kate close to him as she sobbed into his side, Rick sighed as he watched as Roy's coffin was slowly lowered into the ground, the sound of his wife and children sobbing filling the area as he held Kate close to him. Watching as the crowd slowly started to disperse, Rick sighed as Kate slowly looked up at him in tears.

"I tried, I tried to be strong" she whispered as he nodded and kissed her forehead gently. "I tried to do it," she mumbled, the brunette sighing as she gently wrapped her arms around him for a moment, unable to stop herself from smiling as she cuddled into his side. "I'm sorry, I wanted to do this for his wife" she declared as he cuddled her close to him for a second before looking across to see Roy's wife approaching them.

"Evelyn" Rick said quietly as Kate turned to look at the woman who was approaching them with her daughters. "I'm sorry about Roy," he declared as the older woman nodded slowly and continued to hold onto her daughter's hands.

"Thank you Richard" Evelyn sighed before looking across at the brunette who was still cuddled into Rick's side. "Roy spoke about you all the time Katherine, you clearly meant a lot to him" the widow admitted as Kate smiled weakly.

"He loved you a lot Evelyn, he always talked about you and the kids" Kate admitted before moving away from her husband. "I am so sorry that he died but he saved my life and he was brilliant, Roy was an amazing man and he meant so much to me" Kate explained as the older woman nodded in silence and dug into her purse, pulling out an envelope in confusion as Kate quickly looked across to see her lifting an envelope out of her purse and looking across at her.

"Roy had this on his desk when I got home that day," she explained as she passed it to the brunette who quickly stared down at Montgomery's scribbled handwriting, her head nodding slowly as she sighed and passed it to her husband before walking towards Evelyn and wrapping her arms around her as she shut her eyes for a moment and held the now sobbing woman close. "You married an amazing man Evelyn, an amazing man who loved you till the last moment of his life," she said quietly into Evelyn's ear as the older woman nodded slowly.

"The last thing he said to me was that he loved me and I didn't take it seriously, I thought he was being silly because he didn't normally say it," Evelyn admitted as Kate sighed. "I never told him that I loved him".

"But he knew it" Kate stated before smiling weakly at her. "He always knew it" she smiled as Evelyn nodded and slowly moved away from her.

"Go, go and be with your babies Kate" Evelyn declared as she smiled through her tears at the younger woman. "Roy said that you were made to be a mom, when he met AJ for the first time he came home and told us all about it and we all knew that you were like a daughter to him, he was so proud of you Kate" she smiled as Kate shut her eyes and felt Rick's arms wrap around her. "I better get home, my sons at home with a babysitter" she said quietly.

"Of course Evelyn" Rick said as he kept Kate's close to him for a moment, the two of them watching in silence as she walked away with her daughters. "Let's go and get the kids" he whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair as she took the envelope back from him and began to open it to see a letter from Roy. Skim reading it as Rick began to lead her towards the car, Kate gasped in shock as she looked up at her husband. "What's wrong?"

"This is everything" she explained as confusion covered the writer's face. "This is names and details, he wrote everything down Rick" she said in shock as the writer tightly wrapped his arms around her. "We have a name" she finally mumbled, tears running down her cheeks before he quickly kissed her. "He gave us a name" she stated.

**So what do you think? **


	17. Chapter 17

"What do you want to do about it Kate?" Rick asked quietly as they sat on their bed together, the letter resting in front of them as they clung onto each other's hand. They'd come home from the funeral in silence and had entered the privacy of their bedroom in order to discuss their options, even though they both had a rough idea of what they were going to choose. "I'm going to support you in whatever decision you make Kate but it needs to be your choice," he whispered as she bit into her lip for a moment before standing and disappearing into the nursery, reappearing with her son in her arms and concentration covering her face as she thought about what she needed to do. "Kate," he whispered.

"I want to give it into the precinct, I want to give them a letter and then I want to take our children away from New York. When this man, this bastard, finds out that we know who he is and that we're closing in on him, he'll start panicking and wanting to getting rid of the people who will be against him and that means us Rick and he won't care about how many people get hurt," she stated as the writer nodded and smiled, amazed at how much she had grown over a day. He hadn't expected her to do this, he had expected her to want to do this, to do the whole investigation herself but here she was, planning on giving it up to someone else so she could protect her babies. "We've got bags packed, let's just get going and stop at the precinct on the way out of town," she begged as the writer nodded and stood up in amazement, kissing his wife quickly before she smiled down at her son and sighed. "Grab the letter and I'll go and get Alexis and we can go," Kate declared, walking out of their bedroom as she balanced AJ on her hip and walked up the stairs in search of her daughter. "Lexi we're going now," Kate called out, laughing when the redhead ran out of her bedroom and towards the stairs. "Excited sweetheart?" the brunette asked as the little girl nodded and walked down the stairs with her, Kate smiling as AJ began to cling onto her shirt. "Rick we're reading to go," Kate shouted towards the bedroom before smiling down at her son, desperately trying to keep him entertained as Rick ran out with the letter. "Ready?" she smiled.

"Stay safe darlings," Martha smiled as she walked down the stairs and looked at her grandchildren and her own son and daughter in law. "Call me the moment you get to wherever you're going, I want to know that you made it okay," she declared, approaching them slowly before pressing a kiss to each person's cheek.

"Okay mother," Rick sighed, smiling at her gently as she watched him place a hand on the small of Kate's back, a small smile gracing his wife's face as she nodded and began to walk towards the apartment door with their children. "Stay safe, remember to lock all the doors and don't answer the doors to strangers," Rick declared as his mother stared at him for a moment. "I mean it, this guy will hurt anyone he can if it means getting Kate back into town and I want everyone to stay safe," he announced, Martha smiling at her son's protectiveness. "Maybe you should come with us," he commented.

"Richard Castle, get out and take your wife and kids somewhere safe, I'll be fine and if I'm not, I'm sure Kate's father will come and stay here! We'll be protected together," she announced as Rick nodded and walked towards the door, smiling at her as he looked around one final time. "I love you Richard," she said gently, his smile growing as he stared at her for a moment.

"I love you too mom," he declared, knowing that he didn't say it enough.

XOOXOXOXXOXOXOXO O

"You go inside," Kate declared as the writer parked the car, shock covering his face as he turned to look at her to make sure what she'd just said was real. Did she really want him to go into the precinct without her? She was already acting off character with letting him drive and yet here she was doing another unexpected thing. "Rick, please just hurry up, I want to get the kids out of here and people will ask less questions if it's you," she insisted, the writer nodding as he leant across and kissed her before climbing out of the car, Kate watching until he disappeared from sight. "You excited about our adventure Lex?" Kate asked as she turned her head to look at her daughter who nodded and slowly smiled. "We're going to my dad's cabin in the woods and we're going to do some really fun things together," Kate promised.

"Cool," Alexis whispered, shocking Kate slightly.

"What's the matter sweetheart, you don't seem very excited?" Kate asked; her concern obvious as Alexis looked down at her lap for a second. "Hey you can tell me anything baby and it'll stay just between us if you want it too, your dad doesn't need to know anything if that's what you're scared of," Kate promised as Alexis shook her head. "Right," Kate announced, climbing out of the car before walking towards her daughter's side of the vehicle. Opening the door, Kate quickly bent down beside the side of the redhead and smiled. "What's going on in that brilliant mind of yours Miss Castle?" Kate asked as she brushed Alexis' hair away from her face.

"Is someone trying to hurt you again mom?" the redhead questioned as Kate shut her eyes for a second before forcing them open and smiling at her little girl. Why did Alexis have to be so clever? "Is that why we're going to the cabin?" she asked, Kate sighing as she slowly began to nod, knowing better than to lie to Alexis because she always realised when people weren't telling the truth.

"Yeah baby that's part of the reason why we're going but we're also going because I want to spend some time with my beautiful babies," she explained as Alexis stared at her. "I need to get out of the city so I can just spend some time with my wonderful little girl and boy without work distracting me and taking me away from you," she stated, leaning down to kiss Alexis' cheek gently before smiling. "So yes, we might be leaving because some stupid man wants to hurt me but we're also leaving because it's time for us Castle's to have some alone time as a family so we can do all those fun things we love doing," she declared, staring at her daughter as fear began to cover the little girl's face. "Lex?" Kate asked quietly.

"Mommy," Alexis shrieked, Kate's head turning slowly, her reactions not fast enough as a figure smacked her back, her head knocking hard against the glass of the window, darkness taking over along with the sound of screaming as she fell to the ground and smacked her head against the concrete floor.

**Sorry for the ridiculously late update but I've been trying to do so much work this week it's been a nightmare and I'm sick as well. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please review, comments are rather low at the moment and it is worrying me and making me wonder whether you want me to continue this story or not. Thank you to all those who review, you honestly make me smile and I hope you enjoy this chapter, if you can! **


	18. Chapter 18

She could hear her children crying. It was the first thing she thought of when she started to gain consciousness again. It wasn't the pain in her head or the stinging wounds on her hands, it was the sound of her babies screaming nearby, screaming for her. Groaning, Kate quickly opened her eyes open, shutting them briefly because of the pain caused by the light before she forced her eyes open again and looked across. She was lying on the floor with her face against a wall! Attempting to move, Kate groaned as she realised that her hands were bound together! The bastard! Turning her body slowly, Kate groaned as she pushed her injured hands onto the concrete, feeling glass or something press down into the cuts as she applied pressure. She could cope with the physical pain; she could cope with it if it meant she could see that her babies were okay. Look around, Kate sighed in relief as she looked across to see Alexis beside a wall sobbing loudly, her arms and legs bound while AJ rested in his car seat beside her, crying because he was probably hungry.

"Lexi sweetheart look at me beautiful," Kate called out, smiling weakly when the little girl looked up at her and stared at her for a moment in silence. "Are you hurt baby girl?" the brunette asked as Alexis shook her head, obviously afraid. "Your daddy's going to find us sweetheart, your daddy is going to come and save us like he always does," Kate declared, trying to sound strong as she attempted to stand, her body shaking as she succeeded in sitting up, her body shuffling towards the little girl before she breathed out in exhaustion. "Your daddy knows the name of the man who did this and he's going to rescue us because he's your daddy and he won't let anyone hurt you," she whispered, leaning down to press a kiss into Alexis hair, her foot moving to the car seat to slowly rock it, hoping desperately to calm her son down. She needed to feed him! She needed to feed her baby and there was no possibility of doing it here!

"Mommy we're in the middle of nowhere," she sobbed as Kate sighed and leant down to kiss her hair again, desperately wishing she could calm her daughter down. "They're going to hurt you mom, I don't want them to hurt you," she declared as the brunette shut her eyes for a second, relaxing back slightly when she realised that AJ had stop crying. She needed to sort Alexis out now. "You were just lying on the ground in all the glass and you weren't moving mommy," she sobbed as Kate shut her eyes for a second. "I was so scared, I was so scared because you weren't moving and he was just picking you up and he put you in the boot of the car and threw our luggage out and AJ started screaming and that man just started driving us out of the car park and I looked round to see daddy chasing after the car and he went too fast," she mumbled as Kate felt the tears run down her own cheeks. Rick had tried to save them and he'd failed and she knew, she knew, that her husband would be beating himself up about it.

"It's going to be okay my beautiful little girl, your daddy isn't going to give up till he find's us and I promise, I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. To keep you and AJ safe," she whispered, kissing her forehead gently as she attempted not to cry. This was supposed to be ending! This whole disgusting fear should have ended by now and yet here she was, with her two young children, and no way of saving them! She didn't have a gun, she didn't have anything and her hands were killing her. "Never ever give up hope sweetheart, your daddy is going to come and get us," she declared, falling silent when she heard the door open and footsteps approach them.

"It's good that see that you're awake Officer," the voice declared, making her feel sick as she turned her head to see Senator Bracken, the man who's name had been scribbled down in Roy's letter, walking towards her, a small smile covering his face as he glared at her. Hearing more people approach, Kate watched as two men walked towards her, the taller of the two men grabbing Alexis, forcing her up as Kate attempted to kick him, hoping to fight back while the other man took AJ out of the car seat and held him in his arms, obviously in a way that was hurting her son.

"Stop it, please, don't hurt them," Kate screamed as the bastard, the man she hated more than anything, shook his head. "Hurt me, kill me, do whatever you want to me but please, please, let my babies go," she begged, knowing that she sounded hopeless.

"That would be too easy Katherine," he declared as she felt the tears run down her cheeks. "Choose,".

"What?" Kate asked quickly, shock covering her pale face as she looked across from a sobbing Alexis to her shrieking son.

"Choose which child dies?" Bracken stated calmly, his voice no different to how it was when he talked on television, her head shaking slowly as she stared at him while Alexis continued to cry.

"Mommy," Alexis sobbed, Kate's head shaking as she stared at the three men who were threatening her babies. "Mommy please," Alexis begged, desperately wanting to feel safe again as the man who was holding her tightened his arms around her, making it harder for her to breathe. "Mommy, I want to go home now," the redhead sobbed, Kate's eyes shutting as she felt her heart shattering.

"Katherine, your little girl wants to go home; your beautiful little girl wants to go home now. She wants to feel safe again, she wants you to save her like a good mommy would," the politician taunted her, tears running down Kate's cheeks as she watched him run the end of a gun down Alexis' cheek.

"I won't choose, I won't choose between my babies! Please, please just kill me instead, kill me, do whatever you want to me but please don't make me make that choice," Kate shouted as he shook his head, nodding his head as the taller man pushed Alexis down onto the ground while the other man put AJ back into the carrier, the small boy shrieking as Kate looked towards him. "I need to feed my son, please," Kate begged as Bracken knelt down in front of her. "Please, I last fed him at midday and I don't know the time and he's probably hungry," she sobbed as he ran his fingers across her cheek, making her feel sick as he brushed her hair back behind her ear and smirked. "I need to feed him, he's not a year old yet and he can't…" she began, shutting her eyes when he forced her shirt open and looked down at her chest. "I just want to feed my son," she whispered, watching as the politician moved towards AJ and lifted him into her arms, the sight making her want to kill him more than ever. This was her baby. This was the child she'd carried inside her for nine months, the baby she'd protected and given birth too under conditions this man had put her under and now he was holding AJ in his arms.

"Alexander James Castle," he commented as she felt Alexis cuddle into her side, burying her face in Kate's shirt as the brunette remained silent. "James after your alcoholic father," he declared, her eyes glaring into his as she watched him! "Alexander after your idiot of a husband," he announced.

"Daddy's not an idiot, daddy's a genius, he's cleverer than you," Alexis hissed, sobbing when Bracken hit her across the face, Kate's foot moving to kick when where she knew he'd be at his weakest.

"Don't you dare touch my daughter," Kate warned as he laughed and stared at the small boy, who was continuing to scream, for a moment before moving closer to the brunette. "I don't care, you can leave and I don't care if they never find you, just let my babies go," she sobbed as he moved towards her, his fingers moving towards her bra before running across her breasts. "Stop it, stop it please," she begged before looking down at her daughter and nudging her head against Alexis' hair. "Close your eyes baby, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you," Kate mumbled, not wanting Alexis to see this.

"You want to feed your baby, you shut up Kate," he warned, tears running down her cheeks as she fell silent quickly, keeping Alexis beside her as she allowed the man who had had her mother killed touch her breasts before moving AJ towards her, almost teasing her as she shut her eyes again.

"I have to hold him," she stated, the man laughing as he stared at her. "I need to hold him so he can eat, he has to be held in a particular way or he won't eat," she declared as he stared at her. "Please," she begged, staring across at her red faced son who was clearly distressed at the whole situation while Alexis remained cuddle into her side. Watching as Bracken placed her son on the floor before tying up her ankles, Kate sighed as he forced her forward and untied the ropes around her hands.

"You try and escape and I'll have them shoot your daughter, right here," he declared, placing his finger in the middle of Alexis' forehead as the little girl continued to cry before Kate quickly nodded and held her arms out for AJ, not caring anymore about how her hands hurt and were covered in blood as long as she could feet her desperate son. Lifting AJ to her breast, Kate sighed as she felt him begin to suckle, her eyes shutting as she ran her fingers through his dark curls. "How does it feel to know that you've let them down Kate? How does it feel to know that this might be the last chance you get to feed your son or have your daughter close to you?" he asked quickly as she shook her head, not wanting to think about it.

"I won't let you kill them Bracken, I won't let you hurt any of my children," she hissed as he laughed, a tear running down her cheek as AJ moved away from her. Resting her son against her thighs, Kate quickly moved her bra back into place, knowing that the bastard of a killer was watching her every move, enjoying every sight she gave him. "Rick will find you, he knows who you are and he'll find you and he'll make us safe again," she declared, her voice full of hope as she looked across at Alexis before looking down at AJ again, smiling weakly as he began to kick his legs like always, his innocence making her smile grow. "He won't let you hurt our babies," she declared, her determination fierce as Bracken laughed and lifted AJ into his arms and placed him into the car seat again before tying her arms again and standing.

"Let's wait and see whether your hero comes to get you Kate," he declared before walking out of the room, tears running down her cheeks as she turned to look at Alexis who still had her eyes closed tightly.

"Open your eyes, open your eyes" Kate whispered as Alexis slowly did what she'd told her, looking up at her mother as Kate forced a smile onto her face. "Don't listen to him baby, don't you listen to him because your daddy is going to find us, he's going to find us because he always does and he'll have Ryan and Esposito to help him," she declared, trying to increase Alexis' hope in the whole situation.

XOOXOXOXOXXOXO

"I left them alone for a minute, it was only a minute and then this man was driving the car and I couldn't see Kate and there was glass all over the ground," Rick blurted out as he sat in the break room with his mother and Jim, the two adults staring at him concerned as he ran his fingers through his short hair. "We were going to go to the cabin, Kate wanted to leave the case to someone else and just get out of town so we could be alone and just focus on the kids finally," Rick mumbled as silent tears ran down his cheeks, not surprising anyone. "This was supposed to be ending,"

"And it will Richard, we'll get them back and we'll get this man," Martha promised as she wrapped an arm around her son and held him close for a moment. "You married an extremely strong woman and she's going to keep them safe, Alexis and AJ are going to be fine," she declared, the writer nodding slowly as Rick shut his eyes and relaxed back into the couch. "And Kate will be too," Martha added.

"I should have been faster, if I'd been faster I could have stopped him," Rick commented.

"Don't blame yourself Rick, Katie's going to be fine and so will the kids," Jim promised as Rick stood up and approached the door, looking out to see everyone in the precinct running around, some on the phone will other's talked amongst themselves with folders in their hands. "They're doing everything they can to find them and they will, they've managed all the other times," the older man declared as Rick sighed and opened the door, stepping out to see Ryan and Esposito talking with a detective.

"Castle you should go home," Ryan declared as he walked towards the writer with his partner. "

"No, I'm not leaving until you tell me where I can find my wife and children and I have them back with me again," Rick said, his voice full of determination as the two men slowly nodded. "Where's Bracken? Somewhere in his office must know where he's going on whether he owns any property?" Rick declared as Ryan and Esposito looked at each other before looking across at him.

"We have two people going through his property lists, another two going through his calls and someone is discussing to the staff in his office right now," Esposito listed as Rick nodded slowly, glad to hear that people were actually doing things.

"Let me help, let me go through something, just let me feel like I'm doing something to help them," Rick begged as Kevin sighed and moved towards another set of files.

"These are his bank records," Kevin stated as Rick nodded. "Look through them and see whether anything irregular stands out recently," he declared, the writer slowly moving towards his wife's desk before sitting down and staring at the picture that decorated it. Kate was sat on the couch, resting back against him while Alexis perched on Rick's knee and AJ slept peacefully in Kate's arms, smiles covering the new parents faces as they stared at the camera. This was the Kate he missed, the family time he missed and he just wanted it back. He wanted them back more than anything in the world. He would give up all his money and books if it meant having Kate and their children back again. Staring down at all the information that covered the pages, Rick sighed as he began to skim read through them, desperately trying to find something that would lead him to where his family were.

"I'm going to find you, I'm going to find all of you," Rick whispered, running his fingers across their family picture before staring down at the paper again. "Ryan, Esposito," he called out, the two men walking towards him as he pointed down at two pieces of information. "He went to a service station, he bought things there and he did it today, he did it with a credit card and he did around two hours ago, around the time he took them," Rick explained as they nodded. "We need to go now, we need to go there and see if they have security footage or something, something that will show that he took Kate and the kids," Rick declared, standing up quickly as the two officer's nodded, knowing that this was their best chance at the moment.

XOOXOXOOXOXOXO

"Yeah that man came in," the teenage worker announced as he stared at the picture for a moment. "He had two kids in the back of his car and a smashed window, seemed strange because I've seen him on the television before," he commented as Rick and Ryan nodded while Esposito looked at the security footage.

"Do you remember what he bought?" Rick asked quickly.

"Bandages, he'd cut his hand pretty badly, he was bleeding everywhere," the younger man admitted as Ryan nodded slowly, knowing they'd found traces of blood, one of which they'd had proved to belong to Kate while the other remained unknown.

"Ryan get over here now, you need to see this," Esposito called over, the officer moving away from the writer before staring at the video on the screen.

"What is it?" Rick asked, approaching them as they made a space for him to see. Staring down at the screen, Rick felt the shock cover his face as he stared at the image of Bracken opening the boot of Kate's car, obviously unaware of the security camera that was focused him, when he opened the back of the vehicle to reveal the detective who was curled up in the boot, not moving. "Kate," Rick whispered.

"She'll be fine," Esposito declared, looking across at the writer who nodded slowly. "Do you know what way he went?" the officer asked as the teenager nodded and pointed to the right, Rick sighing as he watched Ryan walk towards the door with his phone.

"What's he doing?" Rick asked quickly.

"Calling the precinct to see whether there are any buildings around this area that might be suitable for him to hide them in," Javier explained as Rick nodded slowly, desperately hoping that there wouldn't be too many around them.

"Two buildings," Ryan declared as he walked towards them, burying the phone back in his jacket pocket. "One's an apartment, the other one is a warehouse he inherited through the family, they looked into it and it hasn't been used for anything and he hardly mentions it," Kevin explained as Rick smiled. They were close; they were close to getting his family back.

XOOXOXOXOXOXO

"It's time Kate, make your choice," Bracken announced, re-entering the room to see Alexis with her head on Kate's lap while AJ slept in his car seat, tears running down Kate's cheeks as she continued to shake her head. She wasn't choosing which child survived and which didn't! She would rather die than let her babies suffer. "Alexis or Alexander Kate, you've had the time,".

"Please don't do this," Kate begged, knowing there was nothing she could do to fight him. Her legs were now bound at the ankles, her hands were tied and Alexis was sleeping on her, she had no possible ability to move and fight him. "Kill me, just kill me! I'm the one you've always wanted; I'm the one who couldn't leave my mom's case alone so please, please just kill me! Let my kids live without a mom like I did, just please don't hurt them," she begged, tears streaming down her cheeks as she attempted to plead with a man she knew wouldn't give in. "I'll do anything, just don't touch my children," she sobbed.

"Kate," Rick's voice shouted as Kate felt her body tense while Bracken's glare focused on her for a second. Moving towards the brunette, the politician quickly grabbed the sleeping child and pulled her up, the redhead screaming as Kate shook her head and watched as Bracken held a gun to Alexis' temple.

"Please, leave her alone," Kate begged as Alexis began to cry loudly, obviously loud enough for Rick and whoever else had raided the building with him to hear because she could hear their footsteps running towards her. "She's a little girl, just leave her alone," Kate shouted, her fingers desperately playing with the knots as she attempted to loosen her bonds.

"Any last words for your mommy Alexis," Bracken declared as Kate shook her head. This couldn't be real! This couldn't be happening! He couldn't shoot Alexis!

"Mommy please help me," Alexis sobbed as Kate shook her head, unable to stop her tears as she attempted to move towards them.

"Baby girl just stay calm, everything's going to be alright, you're going to be fine," Kate whispered, not even knowing if what she was saying was true or not. "You just need to calm down for me," she insisted as Bracken laughed and pressed the gun further into Alexis' skin, both Kate and the little girl sobbing. "You don't need to do this, you could just go now and no one would know," Kate declared.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Bracken asked, his finger moving towards the trigger as Kate realised there was nothing she could do and that Rick wasn't going to make it. God! Rick was going to walk in and see his daughter's dead body on the floor and they were never going to get through this! They were never going to get through life without their little girl.

"Mommy," Alexis sobbed, Kate's hand desperately working the ropes as she tried to get them lose, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle, her eyes looking back before a shot rang out, her body just stopping in shock. No!

**You're probably all going to kill me so please review and let me know what you think! It means so much to hear from you, especially since this story will be ending soon! Thanks for everyone who reviewed to the last chapter as well, your comments really do make me want to write more! **


	19. Chapter 19

"Alexis," Rick screamed as he watched his daughter drop to the ground with Bracken, Rick's body quickly running towards them as fast as possible, his hands pushing the corpse off his daughter before staring down at the screaming little girl, his hands quickly untying her arms, tears running down his face as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've got you baby, I've got you, I'm never letting you go again," he whispered before looking across to see Kate looking away, her whole body shaking as she continued to sob loudly. "Kate, Kate she's okay, Alexis is okay," Rick called over, watching as she turned her head to look at him, a gasp leaving her lips as she looked across to see Alexis curled into Rick's arms, perfectly uninjured. "Baby I need to help mommy now, you need to let go of me for just one second," Rick whispered, running his fingers through Alexis' hair, not surprised when the little girl tightened her arms around his neck, the writer nodding slowly as Javier walked over and knelt down beside the sobbing brunette.

"Let's undo your arms Beckett," Javier smiled as he began to untie the ropes that were digging into Kate's skin, the brunette relaxing back as she held her hands up to stare at the cuts that covered her skins while Esposito untied her ankles. "The ambulance is almost here," he declared as she groaned, knowing that she probably needed to see them. She needed someone to clean up her wounds and remove the shards of glasses that were digging into her skin and she couldn't expect Rick to do it for her.

"Lexi?" Kate asked, watching as her daughter moved out of Rick's arms and approached her, her legs now free because Rick had removed her bonds, making her smile weakly when she slowly moved her arms around her little girl. She wanted to just hold her for a while, hold the baby she thought she'd lost. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered as Alexis shook her head, unable to stop herself from crying as she buried her face into her chest. "I should have done more to protect you, I'm so sorry baby girl," she mumbled, tears streaming down her cheeks as Rick crawled towards him and quickly leant in to kiss his sobbing wife.

"I found you, I found you Kate," he whispered, cupping her cheek as she nodded and leant in to kiss him again, keeping Alexis close to hear. "AJ, I need to hold AJ as well," he declared, reaching across for their son before lifting him into his arms, smiling down at the baby while Kate ran her fingers across AJ's cheek. "Thank god you're okay, thank god you're all okay," he declared as Kate nodded and curled into his side, keeping Alexis in her arms as AJ began to sleep in his father's arms. "When I saw him driving the car away, the idea of never seeing you again," he whispered as she shook her head.

"I need you to get the kids out of here Rick," she declared, realising that there was a dead body by her feet. "She can't see that, I don't want her to see anymore," Kate announced as she kept Alexis pressed to her chest when the redhead began to turn her head. "Don't turn around sweetheart, just don't turn around for the moment," Kate soothed as she ran her fingers through Alexis' hair, tears running down her cheeks as she realised Bracken's blood was in her daughter's hair. "I want to go home; do you think you can deal with my hands?" Kate asked quietly, the writer quickly resting AJ on his thighs before reaching down for one of her hands, the brunette smiling weakly when the writer looked at the cuts on her hands.

"I can deal with these but we should check to see whether you need stitches," he announced, a groan leaving her lips as she realised that she wasn't properly going home anytime soon. "I'm going to go and put Alexis in the back of the car," he declared, passing AJ to Kate before standing up and lifting his daughter into his arms. "Wow you're getting heavy," Rick announced as Alexis buried her face into his neck before the paramedics entered the building and looked around. "My wife, she has some bad cuts on her hands, she might need stitches," Rick declared as the man and woman team nodded and slowly approached Kate, the writer smiling as he carried his daughter out of the old building, desperate to just get his family home now.

XOXOOXOXOXOXO

"Thank god you're safe," Martha declared, running towards her family as Jim quietly followed, wrapping his arms around his daughter while Martha enveloped her arms around Rick who was still holding Alexis in his arms. "We were so worried about you," the redhead admitted as she moved to hug Kate who was holding AJ in her arms, not caring anymore about her bandage covered hands. She didn't need stitches but the paramedics had still bandaged up her wounds to stop the chance of infection. "No one's hurt badly?" Martha asked.

"We're fine," Kate declared as she looked across at her husband. "Alexis is a bit shaken up but we're okay," she admitted, her father and Martha quickly looking at her as she nodded and smiled down at her son. "It's all over now, Bracken's dead daddy," she stated as shock covered her father's face. "Daddy we got him, we got the bastard who had mom killed," she declared, tears filling her eyes as her father quickly wrapped his arms around his daughter again. "He's gone," she stated as she buried her face into her father's chest as everyone watched them in the precinct, knowing that the monster who had haunted Kate, their friend, since before her career was now gone. "Oh my god he's gone," Kate stated in shock as she stared up at her father. "He's dead, he's actually dead," Kate declared.

"I know Katie, he's gone now," Jim whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead before holding his arms out for AJ, the brunette nodding as she passed her son to her father before turning around to see Alexis now cuddled into Martha's side while Rick watched her. Moving towards him, Kate laughed through the tears as she quickly wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and allowed him to lift her off the ground slightly as she bit into her lip.

"It's over Kate, we're safe now," the writer declared as Kate nodded and felt her feet touch the ground, her arms not moving from around Rick's neck as he smiled at her and leant down quickly to kiss her, neither of them caring anymore that they were in the precinct with everyone watching them. "It's finished, this whole case is done," he stated as she nodded slowly and bit into her lip, unable to stop herself from crying and she realised that she'd achieved the one task she'd set out to do since she signed up for the academy. They'd solved her mother's case, they'd found her killer and he was gone! They were safe again! "We got the bastard," he whispered in her ear as she laughed and nodded, watching as he brushed away her tears with his thumbs.

"We got the bastard," she repeated before kissing him again and moving to bury her face into his neck. "I want to have a dinner tonight, I want to have everyone around," she declared as she laced her fingers with her husband. "I want to do family things again now, I want to have our friends around, it's time to start our lives now," she stated as he leant down and brushed his lips against hers. "But first I want to get our babies home and let Alexis get some sleep because she's stressed herself out," Kate explained, the writer nodding as they separated and approached their children.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Entering her daughter's bedroom, Kate sighed as she heard the bath running in the en-suite, exhaustion covering Kate's face as she slid into the en-suite to find Alexis sat on the bathroom floor, still dressed in the clothes that Martha had brought to the precinct after Alexis' had been taken into evidence.

"Want me to help you wash your hair sweetheart?" Kate asked quietly as the little girl looked up and nodded before standing and slipping out of her clothes while Kate stopped the water and watched as Alexis stepped in. "Do you want me to put some cream on your wrists?" Kate asked as her daughter nodded, the cop leaning across to grab the cream that was on Alexis' shelves, her fingers dipping into it before rubbing it gently on the deep red rope burns that covered her daughter's wrists before Alexis shut her eyes and placed her hair into the water, Kate not surprised when the red of Bracken's blood began to appear in the water and make her feel physically sick. "Lex get out of the tub sweetheart," Kate sighed, confusion covering the little girl's face before Kate grabbed a towel and wrapped her in when she stepped out. She couldn't have her little girl lying in that! Cleaning out the water, Kate sighed as she knelt down in front of her daughter and smiled at her.

"Why did I have to get out of the bath?" Alexis asked.

"Because I want to wash your hair sweetheart and I can't if you're in the bath," Kate lied as the redhead smiled weakly. "We're going to go and wash your hair in the shower in mommy's room," Kate declared as she lifted Alexis into her arms and smiled. Carrying her downstairs, Kate sighed as she quickly entered her en-suite and turned the shower on. "Now we can wash your hair properly," Kate declared as Alexis stood up. Turning the shower on, Kate sighed as she slowly began to rub the shampoo into Alexis' hair, desperate to get all the blood out of her beautiful hair.

"Mommy, daddy came to save us just like you said," Alexis whispered as Kate nodded and smiled weakly, still rubbing lots of shampoo into Alexis' hair. "Mommy I think that's enough shampoo," she stated as Kate nodded and stopped, moving the shower so she could slowly wash the bubbles out of her daughter's hair while Alexis watched her. "Mommy are you okay?" Alexis asked quietly as Kate nodded.

"Of course I am baby," Kate sighed as she watched the soap and blood run down the drain. "I'm just happy to have you and AJ home and completely safe and for everything to be over," Kate declared, stopping the shower when she was satisfied that all the soap was gone from her hair. Wrapping Alexis in the towel again, Kate sighed as she pressed a kiss to her forehead and ran her fingers across her cheeks.

"Go and get into your pyjamas and I'll come and join you," Kate declared as the redhead nodded and walked out of the room, giving Kate the moment she needed to sort herself out. She needed to stop being so emotional about everything right now! Running her hands across her face, Kate sighed as she relaxed and quickly walked out of her bedroom and up the stairs to find Alexis already sat on her bed in her teddy bear pyjamas.

"Can you plait my hair mommy? I want it all curly when I wake up," Alexis smiled as Kate nodded and sat behind her, moving her fingers through her daughter's hair before tying it as perfectly as she possibly could, wanting to at least do something right for Alexis to day. "Javi, Kevin and Lanie are coming over tonight for pizza, it'll be like the old times again," the brunette admitted as Alexis nodded slowly, just relaxing back against the older woman who smiled and looked down at her for a moment. "Don't fight sleep baby girl, go to sleep and we'll wake you up when everyone gets here," Kate promised, moving slightly to allow Alexis to lie down properly and bury her face into the pillow. "Want me to stay until your asleep baby girl?" the brunette asked quickly as Alexis nodded in silence, smiling weakly when Kate cuddled up beside the little girl, wanting to have her close for a moment. "I thought I lost you today Lex, I really thought I'd lost you," Kate admitted.

"I'm right here mommy," Alexis mumbled as Kate nodded.

"I know you are but I thought I'd lost you and I promise, no one's ever going to hurt you again," Kate smiled as the redhead turned to look at her. "He's gone baby, the bad man is gone and we're all going to be fine now," the brunette smiled as Alexis beamed and leant across to kiss Kate's cheek. "We're going to be a proper family and we're going to do all those fun things we used to do," Kate admitted.

"We'll go to the museum again?" Alexis asked as Kate nodded.

"The first thing we'll do is go to the museum again, we need to show AJ all the amazing things," Kate declared as Alexis cuddled into her side. "We'll do the zoo as well, I'd like going to see the animals again," the brunette smiled as Alexis nodded and yawned, finally relaxing properly as Kate began to play with her hair. Staring at her daughter as she fell asleep, Kate sighed as she climbed off the bed and approached the door, leaving the room silently before walking down the stairs to see Rick sat on the couch going through their wedding photo album. "She's fast asleep," Kate smiled as she moved to sit on the couch, cuddling into Rick's arms as she looked down to see AJ fast asleep in his car seat.

"I didn't want to move him, especially seeing that he was fast asleep," Rick admitted as she nodded and turned to face him, her lips finding his as she sighed and leant in to kiss him deeply, their smiles growing as they relaxed into each other's holds. "What did he do to you when you were in there?" he asked as she shook her head, not wanting to remember it. "Your shirt was forced open, did he try to, you know?" he asked quietly.

"No, he didn't try to you know," she smiled as he ran his fingers across her cheek. "AJ was hungry and I had to feed him and I begged him Rick, I begged him to give me the permission to feed my own baby and he just, he pulled my shirt open and he moved my bra and he touched me," she sobbed as he shut his eyes. "He didn't do anything else, he got AJ for me and just let me feed him," she stated as the writer nodded slowly and gently pressed a kiss to her neck. "Is he really dead Rick? Is he really gone?" she asked as Rick kissed the tip of her nose.

"Katie, I saw the bullet go through his head, I watched him die. He's not going to bother us anymore sweetheart," Rick stated before falling silent, realising how violent and disgusting that had sounded. "I can't believe it's over, well it's not ever but we're safe now," he declared, the brunette smiling as she nodded and buried her face into his chest. "We have a couple of hours before everyone gets here," he admitted.

"What are you suggesting Mr Castle?" she asked quickly as she sat up and looked down at him, her smile growing as she felt herself start to finally relax.

"I'm telling my wife that I want to make love to the woman I've missed over the past few weeks," he stated as the brunette stood up and held her hand out towards him, knowing that she wanted to be close to her husband again and fell him beside her. "We're free Kate, we're finally free," he whispered as she nodded, tears running down her cheeks as he lifted her into his arms and held her for a moment. "He's gone, the bastard who had her killed is gone now, he's never coming back and everyone is going to know the truth about what happened to her Katie," he whispered as he carried her into their bedroom. "It's not just going to be gang violence Kate, your mom was targeted and the whole world is going to know how wonderful she was," he mumbled, resting her on their bed as she nodded, staring up at him before looking at her mother's ring. "She'd be so proud of you Kate," he whispered as she nodded again and smiled.

"I know she would," she finally said, knowing that her mom would have been so proud of everything she'd done with her life. Finding his hand, Kate quickly pulled it before laughing as he moved onto the bed and kissed her. "I love you Richard Castle, you were the best thing that's ever happened to me," she mumbled against his lips as he smiled and looked at her moment, seeing the carefree woman he'd first met appear in her eyes for a moment.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Rick, where's AJ?" Kate asked as she walked out of their bedroom to see her husband sat on the floor with a goofy smile on his face while Alexis sat on the couch giggling. "Right, what am I missing out on?" she asked, both of them shushing her before pointing at a cardboard box that was lying on its side. "What?" she asked, lowering her voice as she walked towards it and knelt down, looking inside to see her son fast asleep with her t-shirt as a duvet. "When did he do that?"

"The moment I got him out of the car seat," Rick laughed as Kate moved to sit down beside him, just watching their son in amazement.

"He's getting big, I haven't really noticed it till now," Kate mumbled, knowing that made her sound like a bad baby. How had she not realised how much her son had grown over the last few weeks and months when she'd been paranoid about everything? "Soon he'll be walking," she admitted as Rick groaned. "And then he'll be running everywhere and we'll be exhausted because he'll have both our energy levels," Kate moaned as the writer laughed and wrapped an arm around her before bringing her close.

"Don't talk like that please," he declared, the brunette turning her head to look at him. "If AJ's growing up that means Alexis is growing up and soon she'll go to college and meet boys and then they'll be weddings and babies and I'm not ready to be a grandfather," he declared as Kate rolled her eyes.

"Daddy I'm eight, I don't want babies yet," Alexis stated as Kate laughed and saw the shock that was covering her husband's face at the realisation that Alexis was still sat behind them. "Anyway I'm not going to college for ages," she declared, the writer nodding as he turned to face her.

"Maybe you shouldn't go to college at all, maybe you should just stay here forever and ever," he declared as Alexis shook her head. "What? You really want to leave me?" he asked, pulling a sad face as Kate punched his shoulder. "What was that for?" he asked.

"Making our daughter feel bad about going to college," Kate stated.

"I'm still eight," Alexis announced as both her parents laughed and leant in to kiss her cheeks. "Dad I've had an idea," the redhead blurted out as Rick nodded slowly, looking at the large grin that was covering his daughter's face. "If mommy had lots more babies you wouldn't have to worry about being on your own because you'd always have a baby with you," she stated as shock covered Kate's face while Rick smirked.

"I like that idea Lex, I think mommy should have lots more babies," he teased as Kate glared across at him. Oh no, they weren't talking about this now! "What do you think mommy? Lots of babies sounds good, right?" he joked as she stared at him for a moment.

"Another baby yes, maybe two more but no more than that Mr Castle," she declared as Rick looked at her. "This body isn't just a baby making machine, I have other things to do like being a mommy to the babies I already have and being a cop as well! I can't be pregnant all the time because you're scared of being alone one day," she laughed as Alexis smiled.

"But you will have more babies' mommy?" Alexis asked quietly, almost silently, obviously afraid that Kate would say no.

"Of course I will sweetheart, we're going to have a big family, just not as big as your daddy is thinking about right now," she stated as Alexis laughed and moved off the couch to cuddle into her parents arms. Hearing a knock at the door, Kate smiled as she quickly stood up and approached it, unlocking it to see everyone they'd invited standing in the doorway with large smiles covering their faces. "Hi come on in," Kate smiled, allowing everyone into the apartment as she sighed.

Her life was going to be okay now.

**I've actually made the decision that the next chapter will be the last ever chapter of the Coffee series which is kind of emotional because I've loved writing these four stories and I've loved hearing all the feedback from you about them. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, if that's the right word for it and I would really appreciate it if you took the time to review, it makes writing so much better to know that people out there want to read your work. Anyway, thank you and I'll see you in the next and final chapter! **


	20. Chapter 20

"If you continue to hassle me, I will shoot you Rick and then we definitely won't be going," Kate hissed as she finished pinning her hair back and stared at herself in the mirror, happy with how she looked. The black dress Rick had chosen for her flattered her figure and her hair was pinned back perfectly, making her relax slightly. She didn't want to look stupid on their first press event since everything had gone crazy! Court cases, evidence, family events, the last seven months of their lives had been hectic and wonderful and brilliant and most of the days she didn't regret in the slightest! Opening the bedroom door, Kate laughed at the sight of Rick pacing up and down in his tuxedo, his fingers playing around with the cuffs of his jacket while Alexis stood by the couch in the teal dress she'd chosen the previous week when Kate had taken her shopping on their girly day, AJ sat patiently on the floor with his toy rabbit while dressed in a similar tuxedo to his father. "You all look wonderful, we can go now," Kate declared as Rick breathed a sigh of relief and lifted his son into his arms, knowing AJ was a nightmare for Kate to carry at the moment.

"You look extraordinary Kate," Rick whispered as they slowly approached the front door, Kate smiling gratefully at him before she found Alexis' hand and squeezed it quickly, walking out of the apartment proudly with her little girl. Entering the elevator, Kate sighed as she relaxed back against the wall, her smile growing with AJ began to sing loudly, none of the words making sense as Rick began to chuckle to their sons attempt at being musical. "He's going to be just like his grandmother this one, on the stage, singing to the world, unfortunately not always in key," Rick declared as Kate rolled her eyes and stepped out of the elevator, feeling Alexis grab onto her hand again as they stepped out of the apartment towards the car that was waiting for them. Climbing into the vehicle, Kate sighed as she shut her eyes and thought about everything that was going on. Here she was, dressed up with her family to go the function organised for the charity auction for the Johanna Beckett scholarship fund that Rick had started once Bracken had died and their family had gained its footing again.

"Daddy who else is going to be there tonight?" Alexis asked, breaking the silence that was starting to fill the car.

"Well, Jim's going to be there and grams and then Lanie, Javier and Kevin too," Rick listed as Kate smiled, remembering how excited Lanie had been at the prospect of a posh evening out in the world of the rich and famous and she'd almost broken Kate's ear drum with her squealing about buying a new dress for the event. "Some of my poker friends are coming tonight and Captain Gates as well," he stated, Kate's eyes opening quickly to look across at him. "Surprise," he cheered, trying to make the situation seem better. He knew Kate and Gates weren't close but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to build some bridges.

"Why is she coming?" Kate asked quickly.

"Because she's your boss, she's highly respected and she's representing the NYPD tonight," he declared as Kate raised her eyebrows. "Also she had a lot of involvement in making sure that Bracken was made guilty for what he did to your mom and Montgomery and everyone else so I think we should at least try and be civil to her," he declared as Kate nodded slowly and forced a smile onto her face before playing with the material of her dress, the writer noticing the charm bracelet that decorated her wrist. "I haven't seen you wear that in ages," he commented as Kate shyly smiled and ran her fingers across the charms she adored so much.

"I haven't been able to wear it because of work and tonight just seemed like the perfect time to wear it again," she admitted before leaning across to kiss him, Alexis groaning as they laughed against each other's lips. Feeling the car stop, Kate sighed as she moved away and breathed out, knowing that the press would be waiting outside of the car and they were the main guests tonight. Tonight she was Katherine Castle, wife and mother, the daughter of an amazing woman whose life and legacy everyone was going to be celebrating tonight.

"I'll carry AJ, you hold Alexis' hand," Rick declared as Kate nodded and found Alexis' hand, the now nine year old girl giggling as she watched the doors open and Kate slide out before her, the cameras flashing at them as they began to walk up the stairs towards the building, people shouting at them for attention but the two of them successfully ignoring, now used to the screaming voices. Entering the building, Kate sighed as she looked down at Alexis who was looking around the room, the sound of music playing further down the corridor making AJ squeal as Kate laughed and ran her fingers through his dark curls.

"Let him down for a minute, otherwise we won't get any peace all night and everyone will hate us for bringing him," she declared, watching as her husband nodded and put AJ down on the ground, the two of them smiling as AJ clung onto Rick's leg for balance as he stood up. Beaming proudly, Kate watched as AJ walked forward slowly before falling and sitting down again, frustration covering his face as he moved to stand up again.

"He is so your child Kate," Rick smirked as the brunette laughed and slowly followed her son, wanting to be close in case he hurt himself. AJ wasn't the best at walking yet and still had the habit of falling into walls and furniture which often ended up in her cuddling him for more than he actually needed but he was like his father and loved having her attention. "He has your determination," Rick elaborated as AJ began to totter forward again, the two of the smiling as Alexis walked over and took hold of both of AJ's hands, helping him to walk further forward. "We've been lucky with them," he declared as Kate nodded and curled into his side, smiling when his ran across her stomach. "I hope this one will be just as good," he declared, running his hand across her abdomen as she looked down at the bump indicating that once again, Kate Beckett was heavily pregnant, with a child that they'd made on the night all their fear had ended.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"How can you be seven months pregnant and yet look absolutely stunning?" Lanie moaned as she stared at the brunette who laughed and shrugged before taking a sip of her water. "It's not fair Kate, I better look that good when I get pregnant one of these days," she declared as Kate smiled at her friend before looking across to see Rick talking with Captain Gates in the distance.

"So are you going to start working on making Esposito a father?" Kate questioned as Lanie rolled her eyes, the two of them glancing across to see Esposito and Ryan deep in discussion about something that was starting a pretty deep conversation.

"I want to get married first and he's not planning on proposing anytime soon," Lanie moaned as Kate smiled and looked at her. "I keep waiting for a proposal but no, he just keeps telling me that he likes the way we are," she announced as Kate sighed, laughing when she felt someone bump into her leg, her eyes looking down to see AJ staring up at her, pulling the puppy eyes that his father did as well.

"Come here baby," Kate smiled, lifting him into her arms before sighing, realising that AJ always made a thing when in her arms to poke her bump with anything he could find, usually his foot or hand. "Alexander James, no poking mommy's bump tonight," Kate warned as he stared at her before wrapping his arms around her neck and burying his face into her shoulder as Lanie smiled. "I fall asleep on the couch sometimes and wake up to him poking my stomach with his finger, he can't just stop," she declared, holding him to her before sighing as she felt him get heavier.

"He's just fascinated on why mommy's stomach has ballooned," Lanie commented as Kate rolled her eyes.

"You should have seen him when the baby kicked, he wouldn't come near me for the rest of the day, it's not like we can even explain to him what's going on," Kate laughed as the ME nodded and sighed, watching as Javier slowly walked towards them and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "So Javier, when are you going to make an honest woman out of this one?" Kate immediately asked, not caring about the glare that Lanie gave her for asking the question.

"I didn't really think that's what we wanted at the moment," he admitted as Lanie glared up at him.

"For god's sake Javier, will you just bloody marry me?" Lanie asked as she crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Yeah sure, it might be cool I guess" he stated, Kate laughing as she realised, before the two of them, what they'd just agreed too.

"You two do realise that you've just gotten engaged to each other?" Kate asked as Esposito quickly looked at Lanie before laughing, the cop quickly wrapping his arms around the ME as she smiled weakly and rested against him, unable to stop herself from laughing again as she took in what had just happened. "Congratulations," Kate smiled as they both nodded and looked up at each other, their lips joining as Kate rolled her eyes and turned her head to see Rick walking towards her, his lips moving down to kiss AJ's forehead as the little boy squealed at his father. "Can you take him?" Kate asked when AJ's foot tapped into her bump, the writer nodding as he took AJ into his arms and lifted him above his head as the little boy squealed and kicked his legs, most of the crowd looking around at them and laughing. "Lanie and Javier just got in engaged," Kate announced as shock covered the writer's face.

"You finally got the courage to take the next step Javier?" Rick asked quickly as the brunette laughed and looked at her friend.

"Actually, Lanie asked," Javier admitted, proud of what his girlfriend, now fiancée, had done by proposing to him! It was just such a Lanie thing to do! "We're getting married Lanie Parish, you're going to be Dr Esposito," he declared as she stared at Kate in shock while the brunette cuddled into her husband side and began to run her fingers to her sons chest so she could tickle AJ's chest, the small boy giggling when she began to do it.

"Ladies and gentleman," a man said as Rick slowly put AJ down, the small boy clinging onto Kate's arms as Rick pressed a kiss to Kate's lips. "Tonight's host, Mr Richard Castle," the man stated as Rick walked towards the stage and approached the microphone, his smile growing as he looked across the applauding crowd.

"Good evening everyone," Rick smiled as silence fell across the room, Kate smiling as Alexis moved to stand beside her, her body resting into Kate's while AJ moved to sit down at her feet. "Everyone here has come tonight to celebrate a wonderful woman tonight. A woman who worked hard in every aspect of her life, whether it was her career or her family, a woman who was murdered because she was trying to do her job and uncovered a conspiracy, a conspiracy that continued until seven months ago," Rick stated as he looked across at his wife, relaxing when she smiled and nodded at him. "That woman is the wonderful Johanna Beckett, the mother of my beautiful wife Katherine," he explained, not surprised when everyone started to clap again, some of them turning to look at Kate as she ran her fingers through both her children's hair. "We're all here tonight to raise money for the scholarship fund that has been opened in Johanna's name, a charity which will allowed students to study law and show that there is still justice in this world, something that Johanna believed in extremely," Rick smiled as Kate looked across to see her father standing with Martha, the two of them watching in silence as Kate realised that both of them were drinking water. "On behalf of my wife Kate, our children and Kate's father, I want to thank all of you for coming tonight and helping us raise money for such a wonderful charity," Rick admitted as he stopped for a moment and listened the chatter that began to fill the room again. "I also have two other things to discuss tonight," he added as confusion covered Kate's face.

"I thought he was only doing one speech tonight," Lanie commented as Kate shrugged and turned to look at him.

"I want to congratulate our amazing family friends, Javier Esposito and Lanie Parish in their recent engagement," Rick smiled as Javier and Lanie laughed while Kevin turned to look at them in shock. "And by recent, I mean this evening," the writer laughed as everyone smiled, Kate quickly lifting AJ into her arms when he began to fall asleep against her leg, not surprising her. This was a late night for her baby boy who spent most of the day asleep than awake. "The other thing I want to talk about is something that I am going to pass over to Victoria Gates, Captain of Homicide at the tenth precinct," he declared as Kate, Ryan and Esposito groaned, watching as the woman moved to stand beside Rick, smiling weakly as she looked across at the crowd.

"Javier Esposito, Kevin Ryan and Katherine Beckett," Gates announced as Kate continued to hold her son in her arms, terrified as AJ buried his face into her neck and yawned. "I am proud to tell you that your applications were accepted and you're now being promoted to detective's, congratulations" the captain said as shock covered Kate's face while Javier laughed behind her, Kevin slowly moving towards them as Kate smiled weakly, still amazed that she'd been promoted. She was now a detective. Detective Kate Beckett! Hearing everyone applaud their achievements, Kate smiled as Javier and Kevin both hugged her, a laugh leaving her lips as she heard Rick move towards her, her two friends stepping away before her husband leant in and kissed her.

"You knew," Kate laughed as Rick nodded and smiled down at their son to see that he was now fast asleep. "And you kept it from me," she smiled, the writer nodding as she rolled her eyes and leant in to kiss him again, unable to stop herself from smiling against his lips as she heard people start to talk again around them. "He's fast asleep, we should have gotten a baby sitter for him Rick," Kate admitted as she looked down at her son for a second.

"And let him miss out on all the fun," Rick whispered as he pressed a kiss into AJ's hair and sighed. "I want to dance with you," he admitted as she sighed, knowing that she wanted to dance as well, although she didn't want to move AJ out of her arms either. "Your dad wants to spend some time with the kids so I'm sure he won't mind watching AJ while we go and dance for a bit, soon getting up the stairs to say goodnight to the kids will tire you out," he teased as she glared at him before moving towards her father, her smile growing as he stood up and kissed her cheek gently.

"Can you look after this one for me? Rick wants to dance," Kate admitted as Jim nodded and held his arms out for AJ, the brunette slowly passing her sleeping child into her father's arms before Jim sat down and cradled his grandson in his arms, the brunette smiling as she thanked him quietly and moved towards her husband, her fingers lacing with her husbands as they moved towards the dance floor, their arms slowly wrapping around each other as they slowly began to sway to the music.

"So Detective Beckett," Rick smiled as Kate laughed and nodded. "You've just made Detective and you'll be going on maternity leave soon," he commented as she groaned, looking down at her bump before she nodded, knowing that her tiny baby was her first thought, especially now that work had officially taken second place in her life. She spent more time with her family, evenings were spent making dinners together and watching movies together! "You're going to be an amazing detective Kate, you deserve this so much," he declared.

"Detective Beckett, Mrs Castle, mommy to three babies," she commented. "Life is bloody good right now Mr Castle and I think it's going to get better for us," she declared, leaning up to kiss him again before relaxing into his arms, knowing that this was how life was supposed to be for them.

**And here it is the last and final chapter for the Coffee series! **

**You've all been amazing and your comments mean so much to me! I've learnt through this and I've adored writing every single chapter and reading every review that this has received throughout the four stories! It's kind of depressing that it's over but I'm happy that I ended this story with one final happy Caskett chapter! Anyway, hopefully this makes you happy and you feel like this was the ending Castle and Beckett deserved in this little world of mine! **


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